


Persona 5: Reignited.

by angelrin89



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, I'm a shipping slut screw it lol, Multi, Phantom Thief Hifumi, Phantom Thief OC, So many crack ships and rare pairs, Team Bonding, Team as Family, and a rare pair shipping slut, beware for I am a crack shipping slut, don't worry a lot of friendship moments too, lots of continuity references to P3 and P4, phantom thief mishima
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:15:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 29,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22539973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelrin89/pseuds/angelrin89
Summary: You all know the story of P5. Teen gets accused of a crime he didn't commit and shipped off to Tokyo. He discovers his powers and the supernatural world. Well this story is a bit different from how you remember, P5 completely reimagined. Old characters with a twist, and brand new characters too! Not just changing hearts, but the way you'll appreciate this series as much as I do!
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Niijima Makoto & Niijima Sae, Amamiya Ren & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Amamiya Ren/Takamaki Ann, Kitagawa Yusuke/Okumura Haru, Kurusu Akira/Takamaki Ann, Mishima Yuuki/Sakura Futaba, Niijima Makoto/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Persona 5 Protagonist/Takamaki Ann, Togo Hifumi/Original Male Character(s), Yoshizawa Kasumi/Theodore
Comments: 86
Kudos: 71





	1. Our Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: This story will have a lot of references to Persona 3 and Persona 4, and the spin off games, this first chapter especially will have a ton of P4 references, if you only played P5 you will be very lost. I recommend looking up some info on both games if you are truly to enjoy this story. That is if you want to.
> 
> I've been working on this story for well over a year, making all sorts of notes and outlines, now I feel ready to go into the publishing phase. I hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Special thanks to my best friend coolman229 and eiranerys, who have been so helpful and encouraging me in the whole planning process for this story. Also special shoutout to eiranerys again, as she is the beta for this story! You guys are the best!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: This story will have a lot of references to Persona 3 and Persona 4, and the spin off games, this first chapter especially will have a ton of P4 references, if you only played P5 you will be very lost. I recommend looking up some info on both games if you are truly to enjoy this story. That is if you want to.
> 
> I've been working on this story for well over a year, making all sorts of notes and outlines, now I feel ready to go into the publishing phase. I hope you all enjoy.
> 
> Special thanks to my best friend coolman229 and eiranerys, who have been so helpful and encouraging me in the whole planning process for this story. Also special shoutout to eiranerys again, as she is the beta for this story! You guys are the best!

**fanart banner done by[lilshironeko](https://lilshironeko.tumblr.com)**

* * *

The Shiroku Pub was practically empty that Wednesday night. Save for Ryotaro Dojima, and the bartender who insisted on being called a hostess. The old woman was quite the character, still wearing that same little tacky red dress. Despite her quirks, she was a good person who knew all the town gossip, from even the littlest whispers. That made her useful for some cases in the past.

"Dojima-san, weren't you supposed to meet a friend?" The older woman asked.

The detective glanced at his wrist watch.

"He should be here soon Mei-san." Ryotaro nodded.

She shrugged and began to fix up the detective's drink.

"Oh, by the way, did you hear? Rumor has it little Tatsumi-kun is planning on asking a certain detective to be his girlfriend." She said with a wink.

Ryotaro just laughed, "It's about damn time. He's been gawking at Naoto from the sidelines for years."

"Aw, but I think it's sweet. Despite being rough around the edges, he's actually quite shy." Mei stated.

She finished mixing up the drink and handed the older detective the glass. He nodded in silent thanks.

Mei asked, "That reminds me, is it true that the Hanamura boy proposed to the Satonaka girl?"

Ryotaro nodded before taking a sip of his beverage. Mei looked like her eyes were ready to pop out of her head.

"Are you kidding me?! Didn't those two always fight like cats and dogs? I was honestly expecting you to confirm that the rumors of them dating—and subsequently this proposal—were nothing but tall tales!" She exclaimed.

Ryotaro just laughed and nodded again. He had to admit he was a bit surprised too.

Despite their arguing all the time he assumed the two would never do anything about it. Chie was a bit hard-headed, not to mention oblivious to her feelings. Yosuke obviously was attracted to her but didn't really do anything about it because he still wasn't ready to move on from Saki Konishi.

" _Well... that and they were both kind of idiots._ " The detective thought as he quietly chuckled to himself.

Regardless, despite his or anyone else's opinion... at some point the two seemed to have figured it out and gotten over their hang ups. Chie finally swallowed her pride and embarrassment, then asked the youngest manager of Junes, out on a date two years ago. They had grown closer and closer until finally; Yosuke popped the question.

Everyone in his precinct congratulated and teased Chie about it when they got wind of it. Once she gets out of the officer's academy he hopes she's prepared for more relentless teasing. Although the jesting and best wishes were done quietly, as Chie and Yosuke wanted to keep it on the down-low for now. He told them both good luck at trying to keep a secret in a small town that loves to gossip.

He quietly chuckled to himself and took another sip of his drink. He cleared his throat before conversing further.

"Every one of those kids their generation seems to be running around and finding someone. The Ichijo boy and that Ebihara girl went and eloped right after their high school graduation. And apparently Yukiko is engaged to the Konishi boy. Oh, and I also heard Aika is dating...what's his name again?" Ryotaro trailed off.

Mei said cheerfully, "Oh, you mean Daisuke-kun. Yeah, I was surprised anyone could keep up with Aika-chan. And I was even more surprised that Naoki-kun managed to win the heart of Yukiko-chan. Every boy her age constantly tried for years to no avail. But it's sweet. I'm happy for all of them."

The detective could only nod and give a small smile. Every one of his nephew's friends were truly growing up.

Mei-san looked like she was about to ask him something until the door to the pub opened, a man walking in.

"Oh—welcome to the pub, sir!" The hostess greeted.

Ryotaro looked over and saw a man in a dark blue business suit and a black tie walk in. He had brown hair and gray eyes. It was the company he was expecting. His old friend, Kaneto Amamiya.

Normally his hair was well groomed and straight, almost looking like Ryotaro's nephew, the way he styled it. But right now, Amamiya's hair was scruffier and messy, like he didn't fix it at all, which was unlike him. His hair looked almost more like how his son, Ren, would style it. Adding to that, Ryotaro noticed that Amamiya had bags under his eyes too, indicating a lack of sleep. Not only that, normally Amamiya was always clean shaven. Instead the man had quite a bit of stubble. To put it simply...the man looked a bit like a mess.

Amamiya waved lazily to the hostess before sitting down at the bar next to Ryotaro.

Amamiya was once a prosecutor up until five years ago. He and his family lived in Okina City for about a little over a decade. Since all the towns in the area were so small, he actually had to cover a couple of towns as a prosecutor. He quit being a prosecutor after...Adachi's case. That case really wore down on Amamiya, it had deeply started affecting his mental health, and eventually he decided he couldn't handle the job as a prosecutor anymore. So he quit and decided to shift jobs. He became a civil attorney; he wanted nothing to do with criminal law for the rest of his life. He seemed much happier opening his own private firm, handling civil cases. Especially because it meant he could do a lot of work from home more, be with his three kids.

However, he recently heard that Amamiya had quietly moved back to Inaba. But no one had seen him in the past week since he's heard this rumor so he wasn't sure if it was true or not. But more concerning was what he also heard about through the grapevine.

Ryotaro sighed and motioned for Mei to come over.

"Yes Dojima-san?"

"I was wondering if the two of us could have a table in the back, also my friend here would like the same order as me."

She nodded, "Very well, gentlemen, come follow me. I can see you need privacy."

She led the to the back table and slid the curtain over once they were seated; before she left, she commented she'd be back with Amamiya's drink. Ryotaro thanked her before he turned to his old friend.

"Hey..." The ragged lawyer said weakly.

"Hello yourself. It's been some time, though I have to say... you look like shit Amamiya." Ryotaro said half-jokingly.

This got the exhausted lawyer to at least crack a smile.

"Yeah...yeah I do." He agreed with a snort, before saying tiredly, "I know you have some questions, but... give me a minute. I'll tell you everything and what I wanted to ask after a couple drinks. I need to wind down a bit."

"Sure, I understand." Ryotaro said sympathetically with a nod.

Mei-san came back to give Amamiya his drink, and left a little bell for them. Telling them to ring it when they need refills. They both thanked the woman before she pulled the curtain back again and left.

Amamiya took a huge swig of the drink, letting out a heavy sigh after swallowing.

"Don't drink that stuff too fast, you'll make yourself sick." Ryotaro suggested.

"I know, I know. It's... been a rough couple of weeks." Amamiya sounded quite burnt out; he shook his head and tried sitting up straighter, "Ugh—forget about it. I already said I'll tell you more later. What am I doing? I need to relax a bit first. What's wrong with me?"

The detective eyed his friend with pity. Perhaps he should change the subject to get the lawyer's mind of... _that_ particular issue.

"My nephew should be getting back from his honeymoon soon." Ryotaro spoke up.

Amamiya seemed to perk up a bit, a slight smile on his face.

"Oh yeah? That's right, I heard about that on TV. Lucky kid landed himself a pop star bride. My daughter, Reika, was a huge fan of all those idols. I can never keep track... she was obsessed with so many. I remember a Kanami, Tomoe, Nozumi, Sumomo, and I believe Tamami. I think that's the names of her favorites? Not like that matters... the amount of crap Reika always nagged me to buy for her, geez. And all those CDs she would blast way too early in the morning." Amamiya trailed off before taking another sip.

Ryotaro laughed, "I hear ya, my Nanako had an idol phase too. Well, she still does to be frank, though nowhere near as bad when she was younger."

Amamiya nodded after taking another sip of his drink.

"Where are my manners, rambling like that? Which pop star was it? The one your nephew married?" The attorney asked.

Ryotaro smirked; his nephew really was something else. Not many kids could brag that the high school sweetheart they dated then married was a celebrity.

"Rise Kujikawa. Although knowing that girl, I suppose _now_ she'll be gung-ho to advertise herself as Rise _Narukami_. She was crazy about my nephew, had a thing for him ever since they met in high school." Ryotaro explained.

"Ah yes, that's right... that's who it was, Risette. Well, congratulations to your nephew." Amamiya stated with a small smile.

Both he and Amamiya finished off their drinks. Ryotaro rung the bell, and Mei came quickly to grab their empty glasses and then left to go get them refills.

"So, Amamiya... is it true? I heard from a couple of guys at the station that you moved back here to Inaba this week, but no one has seen any hint of you or your family this whole time." Ryotaro asked.

The attorney let out a heavy sigh.

"That's because I rented an apartment room on the outskirts of town. You know in that new apartment complex on the edge of the city? We technically still haven't moved in yet. Just most of our stuff is there. But we're going to officially move in for sure by the end of next week. Just a temporary thing, we'll settle back into Okina by next year." Amamiya explained, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm not selling our house back there... we just all... need to get away for a bit. I'll be checking in on the house regardless at least twice a week even after we move. But I made certain to ask one of our neighbors to keep an eye on the place for us and promise to water our flowers."

"Why move back here, even if only temporarily? Don't tell me it's because of—?"

He was cut off by Amamiya.

"Not yet, let me loosen up a bit more first before I get into that... mess." He murmured.

Ryotaro sighed but nodded sympathetically. Before he could ask anything else, Mei came back, but this time with six glasses of their drink order on a tray, three for each of them. She set each drink down on the table.

She teased with a wink, "I just had a couple walk in, so I'll need to attend to them. But hopefully this will help tie you gentlemen over for a bit. As usual ring the bell if you need anything else. Try not to get too tipsy, too fast."

They both waved and thanked her before she shut the curtain and left to attend her two other customers.

"Tell me, how's that Nanako of yours doing?" Amamiya asked, changing the subject.

"Well she's finally hitting her growth spurt, something she's quite excited about. And she's also going to be heading to her first year of juior high this year, can you believe it?" Ryotaro said with a small but proud smile.

"Wait, first year of junior high? But I thought she was a year younger than Raito?" Amamiya asked.

That's right, Ryotaro forgot, Amamiya's youngest child was a year older than Nanako.

"Yeah she is. But the girl is so smart for her age. She skipped a grade two years ago because she tested so well. I remember how she used to say she wanted to study super hard to skip every grade and go straight to college to be with her cousin. Silly kid, she wouldn't listen to me how it doesn't work like that. I had to get my nephew to explain it to her that was not going to happen anytime soon. Much to her disappointment. Thankfully, she listens to him." The detective laughed.

"I guess that means my boy and your girl could possibly be in the same class this year." Amamiya said with a small but tired grin.

Ryotaro didn't think about that. If they were gonna stay here temporarily then it stands to reason that Raito and Nanako would go to the same school.

Ryotaro offered, "Well I'll let Nanako know to look out for Raito regardless if they're in the same class or not. I know moving and heading to a new school can be tough for some kids. I'm sure he'd be grateful for a friendly face."

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Amamiya said in relief.

The lawyer gave him another small but tired smile before he took another swig of his drink. Ryotaro also took another gulp as well. The cop set the glass down and exhaled through his nose, rubbing the back of his neck.

" _How long are we going to dance around this subject?_ " Ryotaro thought.

He knew he couldn't push it, Amamiya looked absolutely beaten down and needed some time to at least alleviate some of the stress he's been going through.

Amamiya then gulped down a whole glass while Ryotaro only had another small sip. He was about to tell him to slow down but stopped himself when he saw the expression on the attorney's face. He looked absolutely miserable.

"You know... it's been 18 months since me and Rikumi separated. It's been hard on the kids. I've been trying you know... got us signed up for marriage counseling. I show up to every session, it'd be nice if Rikumi would bother to show up to more than just half of them. But you know, I have to keep trying. It's been hard on Ren, Reika, and Raito. And deep down I don't want us to split up, I think we could work through our issues. But she's so... ugh... she's such a workaholic. She barely takes time off and is always traveling." Amamiya lamented.

This was quite an awkward change in subject, and he wasn't sure how to comfort his friend about it.

The detective asked tentatively, "She moved to Port Island recently, hadn't she?"

The attorney nodded as he shoved the empty glass aside. He pulled closer one of the other two drinks he had left. He started tapping his index and middle finger against the glass as he spoke up again.

"I get why she's so passionate about her job. She's fantastic at being the one of the leading Sales Managers for Okumura Foods. But over the years she's been throwing herself more and more into her work and less and less time with the rest of us. I just got so frustrated... I ended up pushing her further away. But maybe this break will help us both figure some things out. And she'll be in charge of management at one of their newest offices over at Port Island so... I don't know. Maybe we both really do need a break. They say absence makes the heart grows fonder." Amamiya explained wearily.

"Kaneto..." Ryotaro mumbled in pity.

He and Amamiya rarely ever called each other by first name. It was always just their last name, no honorifics. But they were professionals after all, a lawyer and a cop. But right now, it felt more right to be casual, just this once.

"Sorry, I am usually not so... this. I thought I'd be shipping off one kid this year, not two." The attorney stated bitterly before he took a swing of his next drink.

That made Ryotaro pause. Shipping off two kids?

The detective asked, "Wait, what do you mean two? It's going to just be you and Raito in Inaba?"

Amamiya put the glass down, now half empty. He licked his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck, then he slouched back a bit into his seat.

He explained, "Reika is leaving for Port Island also in two weeks."

Ryotaro took a gulp of the liquor and while staring at his friend in confusion. He set the glass down and wiped off his mouth.

"Port Island? So she's going to stay with Rikumi? How come? Is something wrong?" The cop asked in concern.

To his shock, Amamiya actually smiled. Not a half-smile or a fake one, but a full ear to ear grin. That was the first time he showed any level of genuine happiness tonight.

"Reika is quite something. She was the star volleyball player of her team last year despite being a first year at the time. They actually made it to the nationals last year, our little Okina High. They lost to Shujin Academy in the finals which... that school will be a topic for later." He said with a slight wince.

Amamiya shook it off, took another sip of his drink, then went back to beaming with pride.

"But so many high schools were impressed. She practically carried the team in those finals. She held her own against so many girls who were coached by a former Olympic gold medalist. We gotten so many offers from many private schools across the country, offering scholarships—fully paid tuition too! Just because they want her on their volleyball teams!" He laughed lightly and said, "We eventually decided Gekkoukan High would be the best choice out of all the options that sent us letters. It's a very prestigious school I hear, plus since it's on Port Island... I'll feel better knowing my little girl won't be alone and will at least have her mom looking out for her."

Ryotaro slapped Amamiya lightly on the shoulder. He couldn't help but grin, hearing that news. At least something good was happening for his friend.

"That's great news. I've heard nothing but good things about Gekkoukan. I'm sure Reika will love it there."

Amamiya laughed, "Thanks..."

Ryotaro proposed they have a toast, in honor of this good news. The two friends laughed as they clinked their glasses against each other, before downing the rest of the drink. They both gasped for air as they slammed their empty glasses on the table and had a good laugh again after that.

It made the detective nostalgic a bit. Like the old days when they'd go to the pub at night after a hard day of investigation. After a couple of minutes of laughing and drinking some more, til they finished the last glass, things gradually got quiet. But the jubilant mood slowly slipped away.

Ryotaro sighed as he rang the bell; Amamiya was looking sullen again. Mei-san quickly came over and cleared off their empty glasses with promises to bring more, but the detective told her they should slow down. She then promised to only bring one glass each this time. She shut the curtain again, took the empty glasses with her and left.

It got far too awkwardly silent. But Ryotaro wasn't confident in what he should say next. Especially with the limited intel he received about the situation. He waited until Mei-san returned with their drinks. Once she did, they thanked her before she left them again.

Amamiya let out a heavy sigh as he just stared at his alcoholic beverage with such a defeated expression.

"I suppose I shouldn't beat around the bush any longer. We both know why I'm really here."

Ryotaro let out a hard breath through his nostrils while he ran some fingers through his hair. His friend was right though, time to address the elephant in the room.

"I... heard a couple things through the grapevine... about Ren. Arrested for assault? Is it true?"

Ryotaro knew that was a stupid question. Of course it was true. Even if he didn't hear about it from some old acquaintances in the Okina City Police Department, just looking at Amamiya's expression and appearance, it was easy to see a man who felt utterly hopeless.

"The whole thing reeks. I called in some favors to some old friends I trust, none of them wanted to be willing to defend him. I eventually had to twist and arm and a leg to get one of them to finally represent my son. And none in the police station or at the public prosecutor's office were willing to hear me out. I've helped them all for years, I've done so much for them. And they all stabbed me in the back. It's crock is what it is!" Amamiya hissed as he slammed the table with his right fist.

Ryotaro's eyes widened before holding up his hands.

"Wait, slow down. What are you talking about? What do you mean they all stabbed you in the back?" He questioned.

The former prosecutor said bitterly, "Ren's trial... was last night, the verdict was decided in less than 30 minutes."

"What already? But that's—are you shitting me? It's that open and shut!?" Ryotaro did his best to not shout despite his shock.

Amamiya clenched both his fists so tightly that his knuckles were starting to turn white.

"He got lucky despite the bad fortune. He's still only sixteen, and his record was clean. He's getting a year of probation. But the high school quickly got wind of this and expelled him before the school year even started. So many of our neighbors all look at him like he's... some kind of thug. Everywhere we went, it was nothing but snide comments or those obnoxious stares." Amamiya ranted, his voices slowly raising in volume as he fumed, "Many _"concerned"_ neighbors wouldn't stop pestering us. Saying we should ship him off to military school to straighten him out and nip the problem in the bud. It's so patronizing. We've lived there for years! Many of them have known Ren since he was in elementary school, and overnight they all quickly wrote him off as a rotten apple! His friends all quickly abandoned him, his girlfriend even dumped him!"

Ryotaro remained silent as his friend spilled everything. His sympathy increased with each passing second.

"They all known him for so long, and at the drop of a hat they discard him! I couldn't stand it. I wasn't going to have Ren deal with that anymore, and I especially didn't want Reika and Raito seeing any more of it. I decided we were moving back here for the time being. Reika and Ren can have a breather before they both leave. Not that Ren can stay. He was born here. We may have moved to Okina when he was about 7 years old... but many folks will remember him. Raito at least was a baby when we moved. So it wouldn't affect him much. But Ren... word will travel quickly to everyone else. Rinse and repeat what happened in Okina if Ren stays. At least by the time word spreads here to Inaba, Ren will be long gone. And everyone can go back to their meaningless gossip about how we shipped off our _"problem child"_ to go be _"corrected"_." Amamiya practically growled.

The attorney finally paused his rant to catch a breath, and took a huge swig of his liquor. He practically slammed the glass onto the table. Surprisingly nothing split, but the fire in Amamiya's eyes was intense.

"Rikumi and I argued and argued about the whole thing. She said that it was our fault, our bickering and marital issues affected him negatively. And he's turned into some punk who takes out his anger now on bystanders because his parents didn't pay enough attention to his needs! What a load of shit! I normally work from home! I was always around! If she wants to blame herself fine! But she better not drag me into her blame game! And she refuses to listen to Ren! Like hell, at least try to hear his side of the story before drawing your own conclusion!"

Ryotaro understood Amamiya's frustration and stress, but he needed to get control of this. He was starting to raise his voice and he didn't want to draw attention to Mei-san or her customers. He placed a firm hand on Amamiya's shoulder and gave him a hard stare.

"Keep your voice down. There are others here I know you don't want to be privy to our conversation."

Amamiya's glare melted almost instantly as he slumped in his seat. He started rubbing his temples as he growled quietly.

"Dojima, I'm sorry. You're right, I need to get a hold of myself." He stated more calmly.

Ryotaro sighed but was grateful he wasn't drunk yet. Amamiya is a stubborn drunk. He moved his hand from his friend's shoulder and waited patiently for Amamiya to speak again. It was quiet for a couple of seconds, but Amamiya lifted his head to continue his story, more calmly this time though.

"It's not right, for everyone to decide so quickly that Ren is someone to give up on. To turn their backs on... we tried reapplying Ren to several schools all across the country. Granted ones that were only a few hours away at most. So many of them turned us down because of this probation ruling. Gekkoukan wouldn't overlook it, even with Reika now going there. Though I suppose that's for the best, Ren and his mother aren't on the best terms right now. Oh, and even though I knew it wouldn't be the best idea because how fast word travels, I still attempted to see if Yasogami High would accept him as a last resort. That was also a no-go." Amamiya lamented.

"Then what are you gonna do? Home-school him for a year?" Ryotaro asked.

Amamiya shook his head.

"No, Ren can't stay cooped up in the house all day. After everything that happened, he needs to get out. Be around other kids. Besides, he can't stay here. I will agree only with one thing with my wife. He does need to get away. A fresh start. I think it would do good for him. My wife managed to pull some strings and get in contact with one of her work friends. His wife is staff at the school I mentioned earlier. The one that Reika's volleyball team was up against last year." Amamiya explained.

"That Shujin place you mean?" The detective asked.

Amamiya nodded lightly and took a light sip of his beverage before speaking again.

"I know we have our many disagreements... but I should give my wife credit where credit is due. Thanks to her business relationships, she was able to call in a favor to her work friend. Her friend's wife spoke with the principal and went over Ren's case and application, and decided they would allow him to enroll." Amamiya stated.

Ryotaro sighed in slight relief. But then regretted it as he raised a single brow when he noticed Amamiya didn't look so content about this.

"There's a catch, isn't there?" He questioned.

Amamiya took a deep breath before answering.

"Shujin Academy is in Tokyo."

Ryotaro couldn't help but wince. That was definitely quite a few hours away by car; it was a long trip even by train. As much as he enjoyed his visits with Yu, he couldn't deny that it was a long trip from Inaba to Tokyo. This would certainly complicate things.

He asked hesitantly, "You don't have any friends or relatives that live around there, do you?"

"No... we don't have anyone there. We could technically rent him an apartment somewhere nearby, but we don't exactly know where the best places to live over there are. And with his probation, he'd have to have a guardian assigned to live with him to keep an eye on him as well as routinely check in with his parole officer. We could hire someone, but... we don't know anyone who'd be willing to go live with him. I was hoping you could have some ideas." Amamiya said.

Ryotaro looked into his friend's eyes, they were practically begging for help. This was quite the pickle. He could think of a couple people that could keep an eye on the kid, but really it depended on their availability, space, and... what kind of kid Ren was. He hadn't seen him since he was a boy, so he couldn't really judge his character. If he truly was a trouble-maker, he'd narrow down his list to people who he'd know wouldn't be a pushover.

He supposed he could contact Yu. He and Rise will be back from their honeymoon soon. But he immediately squashed that idea. That wouldn't be fair to ask Yu to play chaperone when he and Rise just barely were wed. Plus Rise's celebrity status could be distracting. No, that idea would be last resort if none of the people on his list could take Ren in.

"Before I answer... I'd like to hear your thoughts. So Rikumi thinks he's guilty and needs help. What about you? Do you think he did it?" Ryotaro asked seriously.

The detective didn't suspect guilt or innocence. He didn't know the kid well enough anymore so it wasn't his place to judge when he doesn't have all the facts. But Ryotaro still needed to know what his friend truly thought. If he had any slightest doubts then Ryotaro would not dump a problem child on anyone who wouldn't be able to stomp that out of him.

"No."

Amamiya's answer was immediate and very firm. Problem was, he was a lawyer. They're pretty good at bluffing. So the detective gave Amamiya his hardest stare, one that made even the scummiest of criminals uncomfortable in their own skin.

"You don't think he did it?"

"No, he's innocent." Amamiya insisted.

"How do you know?"

"He told me he didn't do it."

"He told you? This isn't fatherly feelings clouding your judgement?"

Amamiya shook his head firmly.

"No, absolutely not."

"You're sure?"

"He was telling the truth."

Ryotaro didn't mean for this to turn into almost like an interrogation. But being a former prosecutor, he knew Amamiya would understand.

The detective sighed after his line of questioning. He remembered what it was like having Yu under his roof. Yu and all his friends were good kids. They technically never lied to him, but they withheld a lot of the truth. It was inherently in the nature of most stereotypical teenagers to lie or at least keep something from their family, especially parents.

Ryotaro asked seriously, "How can you be sure he's not lying to you?"

He was a bit taken back when Amamiya slammed both hands on the table, a rather intimidating glare on his face.

"My son would _not_ lie to me. Not about this. He's innocent, Dojima. I'm not some moron off the street, I'm a lawyer! I deal with liars all the time! I had gotten really good at telling when someone is lying to me! Only _one person_ has ever managed to lie to me convincingly and I fell for it! And last I checked; my son is _nothing_ like that _murderous monster_ who you once called your _partner!_ " The former prosecutor hissed.

Ryotaro halted his breath for a second, as if he was just punched hard in the gut with brass knuckles.

Amamiya's eyes widened at his outburst. He then hung his head down in shame.

"I'm sorry. That was... uncalled for. That case was a touchy subject for everyone, but you more than anyone. I have no right to throw that in your face." Amamiya said somberly.

Ryotaro took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.

"It's okay, it seems we both touched a nerve. Let's call it even and forget about it." Ryotaro said, then scratched his head and sighed, "Why don't you tell me Ren's story then?"

He then repeated his son's testimony of what happened the night he was arrested. And Ryotaro couldn't help but clench his jaw tightly after hearing it. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Amamiya truly believed in this testimony. And the detective was inclined to believe him.

Amamiya was no fool. Plus, the fact that all the attorneys in the area suddenly became impossible for Amamiya to get a hold of? His former colleagues in the prosecutor office and at the police station all refusing to hear him out all of a sudden? And the far too speedy trial? No, his instincts told him there was definitely something fishy going on here.

Whoever Ren pissed off... he was powerful. The fact that he kept himself from being named at all in the trial? The accuser? That was _unreal_.

He felt pity for the kid. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and only trying to help a woman who was being attacked. And now he was being punished for his good deed. He couldn't help but be reminded of Yu at that age. Sticking their nose into trouble because they just want to help...only Ren wasn't as lucky as his nephew it seemed.

Ryotaro finished off the last of his liquor, and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. He grabbed a handful of cash and left it on the table.

"I'll make a few calls. I can't make any promises, but I do know a handful of people who might be able to have Ren come stay with them so he can go to school. I'll message you back as soon as I get an answer from one of them." Ryotaro offered with a small smile.

Amamiya let out a huge sigh of relief, most of the tension and distress seemed to almost melt out of him.

"Thank you... thank you so much."

* * *

Every call.

Every single damn call he made these past few days, the answers were the same. Either they wouldn't be able to take him in or didn't want to deal with a _"delinquent"_. Ryotaro grit his teeth. He made a promise to Amamiya.

At this point it was looking like he may _have_ to call Yu, which didn't sit well with him. He didn't want to push this burden on his nephew and his new wife after they just barely got back from their honeymoon. He knew Yu wouldn't mind, but it still felt like that wouldn't be a good idea for the Ren kid. Rise was becoming more and more popular—especially with her new album coming out. The last thing he needed was the distraction of a celebrity and the attention it gives. No doubt there would be snoopy little reporters digging into a troubled teen that happened to be living with them. Ren was supposed to go to Tokyo for a fresh start.

Ryotaro rubbed his neck as he took a bite of the curry Nanako made for him. He tapped the spoon against the plate while in deep thought about what to do. He absently stared at his empty coffee mug when an idea came to him.

It was a long-shot but maybe _he'd_ be able to help.

Ryotaro pulled out his phone and looked up the number for the business. With any luck he might be able to catch him before he closes. After some scrolling, he quickly found the phone number for Leblanc _._ He dialed it immediately and waited. Several rings and it didn't seem to roll over to voicemail. He supposed that made sense, it was a restaurant. But if he was closed, he'd like to think the business would have the phones switched over for the night. Even a lot of small businesses in Inaba do that.

He sighed and tried dialing the number again. After the fifth ring, there was finally an answer.

The owner said gruffly, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Before Ryotaro could answer the owner spoke up again, sounding even more annoyed.

"It's closing time. Go to some bar if you want food and drink. I'm going home. Good night."

"Wait! Sakura-san, hang on!" Ryotaro shouted into the phone.

"Huh? Who is this?"

Thankfully he didn't hang up.

"I'm Detective Dojima—"

"Finally, so you got the guy who broke into my shop a week ago!"

"Huh? No, I'm—"

"Then what are you calling for?"

"Would you let me talk?!" Dojima barked.

Not exactly the best way to start. Ryotaro needed to salvage this quickly.

"Sheesh, no need to bite my head off, Detective. What can I do for you?"

Ryotaro just sighed.

"Judging from how we got off to a rough start, I take it you don't remember me." e stated.

"Sorry, I don't make it a habit of talking to men on the phone late at night. Should I know you?" Sakura-san asked bluntly.

The detective chose to ignore that. This was his last resort before Yu; he shouldn't offend the man.

"I suppose I don't blame you for not remembering me. My daughter and I only visited your shop at least once or twice a year whenever we were in town to visit my nephew." Ryotaro explained.

"Yeah, that's not ringing any bells." Sakura-san sounded very disinterested.

He needed to establish some kind of familiarity, if only to make it easier to ask for a favor.

"My daughter would often say how you make the best curry in the world, _'no one makes curry better than Sakura-san's curry'_ is what she would always say when we sat down in your cafe. You'd often change the channel on your TV for her to whatever station she wanted... she's always singing to the commercials—"

Sakura-san said bluntly again, "Oh wait, you mean the _'everyday's great at your Junes'_ kid. Now I remember you two. Cute kid... nothing like you at all."

" _Asshole..._ " Ryotaro grumbled mentally.

Ryotaro grabbed his plate and moved towards the kitchen so he could save his leftovers while they were talking. He cleared his throat before he continued speaking.

"I'm sure you can guess I didn't ring you up for some social call, Sakura-san."

"I'd hope not."

Ryotaro maneuvered to hold his phone between his cheek and his shoulder while he scooped his leftover curry off his plate and into a container.

"I know we're not exactly friends Sakura-san. But... from my interactions with you I can tell you are a good man. I know this is supposing a bit much on my part, but my friend is desperate for help, and I'm running low on options." Ryotaro said while he finished storing the leftover food.

"This sounds like you want a favor." Sakura-san tone told the detective he was suspicious of it.

"Like I said, I know I'm presuming a lot. But I'm low on options. A lot of people I asked for help that live in the Tokyo area either can't help or they won't help. I promised a friend of mine I'd help him find a place for his son and well... you're one of my last resorts."

That sounded pathetic now that he thought about it. What was he thinking? Yu would definitely be willing to help. Ryotaro knew his nephew well. Maybe his parents can rent out a place for Ren to live, to avoid the distraction of Rise's celebrity status or any unwanted attention from the press. Yu could then come check on him weekly as well as check in with his parole officer.

What was he thinking pestering Sojiro Sakura over this? The guy has a shop to run and they weren't even friends. He just dined at his cafe a few times. The more he thought about it the dumber he felt.

"Forget about it...I shouldn't be pestering you with this. You have to close shop anyway. Sorry for interrupting you, Sakura-san." Ryotaro said tiredly as he rubbed his forehead.

"Hang on, you didn't even explain what happened."

Ryotaro froze for a split second as he stared at the fridge in disbelief.

"What?"

"You said something about needing to help a friend's son find a place to live. You didn't even explain the situation." Sakura-san clarified.

"It... it's not your problem, Sakura-san. I shouldn't have bothered you with it, I still have one more person to—"

"Well I think I want to hear what this is all about, if you called me this late right before I close it must be so goddamn important. I at least want to hear the story before I decide if it's worth my time or not."

Ryotaro was speechless for another split second before he broke out into a light chuckle. Stubborn as a mule, not that he was one to judge.

* * *

Ren sighed to himself as he stood on an empty platform, waiting for the next train.

Several weeks had passed since the incident. Several very long agonizing weeks and it was all decided so quickly to throw him away like trash.

Ren did his best to not think about it. How slowly but surely all his so-called friends stopped talking to him. The looks and comments his neighbors would give when they thought he wasn't looking or in earshot. Then they had to start pestering his family about their _"problem child"_. Ren was so sick of it. It was so pretentious, pretending they cared when all they wanted to do was judge his father for _"raising a bad egg"_ and gossiping around his siblings like their feelings didn't matter.

He was pulled out of his brooding when he felt a tug at his shirt. He glanced down and noticed his younger brother. He forced a smile and ruffled the brunette's hair. Raito chuckled as he smacked his older brother's hand away.

"I'm so jealous! You get to go to _Tokyo_ _!_ I've always wanted to go there!" Raito exclaimed, his big brown eyes glowing with excitement.

"We went to Destinyland years ago." Ren snorted with an eye-roll.

"Aw come on! That doesn't count, Ren! We only went to an amusement park! And it's not like I remember! I was 3 years old! Practically a baby!" The preteen retorted.

Ren simply shrugged.

"Hey when you go there, can you get me a souvenir from Akihabara? I want to get the latest copy of Myth of Selda that comes out in a few months!"

Ren couldn't help but roll his eyes again.

"You seriously expect me to buy you a video game as a souvenir? You can just get that at the mall."

"What? It's way cooler to have a game bought at Akihabara and you know it! Come on! I just want to say I have one game from that place! Pleeeeease?"

Ren just shook his head but chuckled, "Alright fine, but you owe me."

"Deal! I'll get you a great gift this year for your birthday! Count on it!" His brother exclaimed.

A giggle distracted him from responding to his brother; as a girl his age with light brown hair, green eyes, and freckles on her cheeks, strolled up next to them. It was his sister, Reika; she elbowed him in the shoulder, flashing him a big grin.

"Hey if we're trading favors, I'll get you something nice from Port Island... if you'll get me something nice from Harajuku." She said with a wink.

Ren just sighed and shook his head.

"If I don't say yes, I know you'll pester me for weeks and buy me useless crap I don't want anyway." Ren stated.

"You know me well. But don't worry, if you get me something from Harajuku, then I promise I'll buy you something more useful and less crap." She teased.

"Oh, you're so considerate." He deadpanned.

They both had a good laugh but he stopped when he felt a tug again from his brother. He looked down and noticed a downcast expression on the youngest of the family.

"Hey... you promise to email me, okay? It's... I mean..."

He ruffled the kid's hair again, trying to force another smile to reassure his little brother.

"I'm gonna miss you too. I'll keep in touch." He promised, "We'll talk over the phone too, I'm not gonna forget about you squirt."

Raito brightened up hearing that. He was distracted again when Reika elbowed him once more.

"Hey, don't forget about me! I fully expect you to be texting me as often as possible. If you don't then I will pester you relentlessly until you do!" She teasingly threatened.

"Well we can't have that, now can we?" He said sarcastically.

The joking air melted between them when his sister threw her arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you a lot, you big jerk. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"That's my line you big brat, don't get too soft on Port Island."

He felt Raito squeezing him from behind and he did his best to not look miserable, he hugged them both and gave them a smile.

Reika frowned as she was looking at him. Ren did his best not to frown back.

"Hey Raito, can you go ask Dad to double-check when my bus should be leaving?"

"Huh? Sure Reika, be back in a sec!"

The cheerful boy gave her a salute before he ran off. Soon as he was out of earshot, Reika spoke up again.

"You can fool the runt, but you can't fool me. That was the fakest smile I've ever seen." She crossed her arms.

"What do you expect Reika? I'm tired of seeing everyone so worried. Especially Raito." Ren admitted.

She grabbed him by the wrist since he refused to look at her at that moment.

"We're family, of course we're gonna be worried."

"And he's a kid. He shouldn't have to worry... none of you should. This is my mess. And that whole damn town had to drag you all in it."

He heard Reika sigh next to him. He finally chanced a glance at her.

"Ren... it'll be okay. You're gonna be off to Tokyo, I'll be in Port Island, and Dad and Raito will go chill in Inaba. Other crazy stuff will happen and people will move on to gossip about that. By the time a year is over, everyone will have forgotten all about it." Reika attempted to cheer him up, giving him a reassuring smile.

Ren just let out a frustrated sigh.

"Oh believe me, I know. Kazuma, Juri, Shizuka, Hiroto, and Seiji all forgot about me quickly." Ren tried not to sound too bitter.

Reika looked at him with sympathy, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry..." Ren mumbled.

"Ren, you shouldn't apologize for feeling this, it's not—"

"Reika, let's not talk about it for now. Please?" He hated how defeated he sounded.

He glanced over to her and she gave him a sad smile but nodded.

Reika looked like she wanted to say something else but their father walked over. He handed her a small amount of yen from his pocket.

"Go get yourself some snacks for your long ride, and keep Raito from wandering off. I need a moment with Ren." He instructed.

"Hey Reika! I got the time of the bus arrival!" Raito said excitedly in the background waving at their sister.

She just nodded at their dad and walked over to Raito. Ren let out a heavy exhale. Ready for obvious directions he'd be given for the like the hundredth time, and possibly some last-minute pep talk. Not that he didn't appreciate it, far from it, he was just so drained from it all.

"Here's your tickets, you remember which stops to get off on?" He asked.

"Yes, you told me several times, and I made a note on my phone. And if I get lost I can always call you." Ren said tiredly as he accepted the tickets.

His dad sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Your stuff should be at Sakura-san's place by now. He was kind enough to accept you in and do this for us. Be on your best behavior for him." He instructed.

"I know Dad."

"Some money has been transferred into your account. And here, you can buy some snacks on the way there." His father handed him a couple of bills.

"Thank you." Ren nodded.

"Also here, take this."

Ren blinked in confusion when he saw what looked like a glasses case in his dad's hand. Ren opened it up and sure enough, that's what was exactly inside them.

"Dad, what's this about? My vision is fine."

"I know, they're fake. It's just... it'll help. Make you look more studious, and unassuming. The school will definitely know but at least this way the students will have a better first impression of you. It was... your mother's idea. She thought—"

"She thought it'd make me look less like the criminal that she thinks I am." He said bitterly as he glared at the glasses.

His father said warningly, "Ren..."

He didn't care. Ren was sick of him always defending her after she was the reason their marriage was failing. His dad didn't deserve that. And he certainly didn't deserve his own mother distrusting him.

"And it's so _nice_ of her that she couldn't come see me off. Let me guess... she had another business meeting? Or is she too ashamed to face her bad apple?" He asked indignantly.

"That is _enough._ Not another _word_ like that out of you. And you better not talk like that in front of your siblings!" He ordered heatedly.

Ren protested, "How can you defend her after—"

"I don't like it, but I'm going to keep working on it! You just worry about yourself for once. Keep your head down, and this will blow over. Everything will work out eventually. But you need to put this behind you. Yes she's wrong about you, but she still cares about you. She just... she's trying to show it. She's the reason that school is even taking you in. Remember that." His father lectured but started to soften up a bit slightly in his tone.

Ren clenched his jaw shut and sucked in a sharp breath. The last thing he wanted was to argue with his dad. Just because he felt his mother sucked at the moment doesn't mean he should take his frustrations out on his dad. He swallowed his pride as he bit his tongue, giving his father a nod.

"Good. And you will call me when you make it to Sakura-san's safely?"

"Yes, I will." Ren sighed.

"You should text your mother too when—"

Ren said sharply, "I'll think about it."

"Ren..." That warning tone came up again.

He shot his dad a glare.

"I'll stop whining about her, and I won't say anything to Raito or Reika—but that doesn't mean I am going to act like nothing happened! Yeah, I'm grateful she got me into the only school that would accept my sorry hide, but that doesn't mean I have to forgive her just yet! You want me to trust her? She needs to start by not seeing me as guilty!" He hissed.

His dad growled under his breath.

"You are so damn stubborn. Just accept the stupid glasses and stay out of trouble!"

Ren sighed heavily as he put the dumb fakes on his face. His sister and brother showed up at the right moment, they could thankfully drop the subject.

"What's with the glasses? You look like a dorky bookworm." Raito laughed out loud.

"Wow, rude." Ren deadpanned.

Reika giggled and even his father managed to chuckle. He tried to smile but it was quite forced. He noticed Reika frowning in the corner of his eye.

Suddenly his dad pulled him into a bear hug.

"Please, just stay out of trouble. Listen to Sakura-san, keep your grades up, go to bed at reasonable hours, and stop eating all that crappy food. Just...take care of yourself." His father whispered.

Ren sighed but nodded as he returned the hug.

"I see the train coming!" Raito exclaimed.

"Quick, let's get one last group hug before he leaves!" Reika announced.

He felt himself being surrounded by his two siblings, crushing both him and his dad in a hug. He tried to give a real smile. He wished he didn't have to keep forcing it. But he was at least grateful they were all here.

He gave each of them all one last minute goodbye before he picked up his bag and headed onto the train.

He put in his earbuds, hoping to drown out his thoughts with some music as he took his seat. He saw a couple in front of him, making goo-goo eyes with each other and he couldn't help but feel another wave of bitterness.

Chizuru, yet another stab of betrayal that he had to be reminded of.

He thought he was once the luckiest guy around, to have one of the prettiest girls at his high school as his girlfriend. Save for his parents' separation, everything was going well for him. Good grades, one of the best divers on the dive team, and a gorgeous girlfriend.

But that incident revealed the true colors of everyone around him. His friends abandoned him; the town ostracized him... but Chizuru? Apparently she never even cared.

He was basically her arm candy she could brag about to all her friends in drama club. Her smart and athletic boyfriend who would even help out from time to time with her plays. She claimed he had a natural flair for theatrics... that was probably a lie too, he figured. She only wanted him for his popularity and his looks, so she played the part of what she thought he'd want in a girl. He could hear her snotty voice mock him, as if she was standing right next to him, when she kicked his heart to the curb.

_"You're so naïve. Everyone in this world wants something, and I wanted to be popular. All I had to do was bat my eyes and give the innocent girl routine. So many guys eat it up and you were no different. But you were cuter than most guys, so that was a plus. But unfortunately for you, I need to keep moving up in this world, and a bad boy would just ruin my image. No hard feelings, right? I mean it's not like I was serious."_

He was naïve, he was so goddamn stupid. But he sadly learned how the world worked. All too quickly. Stick your neck out for someone gets you nothing but trouble, and people are full of crap. He was beginning to think the only people in this world that didn't suck were his dad and siblings.

He turned away from looking at the lovey-dovey couple to look out the window instead. He closed his eyes as he listened to the next song. Maybe a nap would do him some good. It'd be a while before his next stop anyway.

* * *

Darkness.

He was surrounded by darkness. The only thing there besides the darkness was some random chair he was sitting in. He glanced around at the vast darkness and then noticed a small blue light that seemed to be floating towards him. He tried to stand up but found himself almost paralyzed. All he could do was move his head; the rest of his body was frozen in place in that chair.

For some odd reason, it didn't seem to bother him all that much that he couldn't move. He just watched as the blue light came closer. The closer it got, the shape of the light started to change. It wasn't a ball of light anymore. It was now a glowing blue butterfly.

"You are the one." The butterfly spoke.

Ren just blinked.

"Huh?"

"You are the one who is needed... Trickster... help us." The butterfly begged quietly.

The butterfly landed softly on his head.

His chair was bumped, and he was immediately brought back to the brightly lit train, wide awake instantly. He shook his head and rubbed his temples; for some strange reason a nap brought on a small headache instead.

He heard the intercom say they arrived at their next stop, he double checked his notes, this was his stop. He'd ride the next train to then get off at Shibuya, from there he'd be inbound for Yongen-Jaya. He let out a sigh as he grabbed his bag and headed out.

Ren boarded on the train. He managed to find a seat next to a girl who looked about his age with long red hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had on a black turtleneck with plain denim jeans and a gray ribbon in her hair. She was sitting next to a man with chestnut colored hair, in gray business pants, and a matching gray vest with a blue tie and white dress shirt. The man kept messing with his hair.

"Kids today are so ill-mannered." The brunette lamented.

"You sound old when you say things like _kids today',_ you know that?" The red-haired girl rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm not old! But...you don't think my hair looks like a duck's butt, right? That kid was just being rude!"

The man's hair was somewhat spiky now that Ren got a better look at him.

"Hmm... actually now that you mention it Ryuuhiro-kun, it does kinda look like the backside of a duck." The girl said.

"How could you be so cruel Kasumi-chan?!"

Ren then noticed an old woman asking for someone to let her sit down and everyone else was ignoring her. He sighed and motioned for her. He let her take his seat and she thanked him. He walked further down to see if he could find another seat, thankfully people were piling in and out all at the same time so there was still a chance he could grab something further up.

He managed to bump into a teenage boy his age with dark hair. It was then he noticed the boy had similar pants to his, so he was a student at the school he was going to, the only difference he wasn't wearing the jacket to that school.

"Huh, sorry I... Oh—I... I have to go!"

That was...odd. There was a strange look in that meek boy's eyes. Was it guilt? He wasn't sure. He just shrugged it off and moved to go find a seat.

He managed to find himself another seat and put his earbuds in and closed his eyes. He didn't fall asleep this time but tuning out the world was always harder in recent days. All he could do was replay that damn night over and over. The terror of that woman's voice, the dread that filled him seeing it, and that hateful gaze of that arrogant drunk who ruined his life.

_"Damn brat—I'll sue!"_

His irritating voice echoed around his mind over and over. Ren clenched his hand around his phone tightly. He pulled his earbuds out; he was in no mood for music.

"What are you for real? A mental shutdown?"

"It's the truth!"

Ren looked over to see two high-school girls gossiping.

"To a person though? That's gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?"

The two girls just giggled as if the terrible stuff on the news they all heard about was some prank kids pull. He glared and decided to put his earbuds back in. Even if he wasn't in the mood for it, music was preferable.

After several minutes he heard the loud intercom even through his music say the next stop was Shibuya. He got off and started to wander around the station. He ended up getting a little lost, and somehow he was now in some underground mall.

There was a girl with very dark brown hair and some interesting red string ornament in her hair that caught his attention. She was arguing with some boy with blue hair, something about telling him he shouldn't waste his entire week's savings on dozens and dozens of flowers. The boy argued something about it being for art. Ren ignored it as he continued to wander. It wasn't his business.

He wandered into another section of the station, there were several flyers for part time jobs that he walked by and paid no mind. He noticed a smoothie stand up ahead. Come to think of it he was getting a bit thirsty. So, he got in line. He had some time before heading over to Yongen-Jaya. He was a bit ahead of schedule.

Voices of another pair, a boy and a girl, got in line behind him.

"Goro-kun, I don't think sunglasses are gonna fool anyone. You'll definitely be noticed."

"Nonsense, you worry too much. No one has stopped us yet. Just you watch, I'll prove it."

He felt a tap on his shoulder and Ren held back a groan. Would people just leave him alone? He just wanted to get a smoothie and go.

He barely turned his head; he didn't want to entertain whatever debate these two were having.

"My good sir, do you know who I am?"

"Not a clue." Ren said flatly.

He paid no mind anymore to the girl with short brown hair and the man with light brown hair in sunglasses behind him. He turned back around and went back to his phone.

"See? What did I tell you? He has no clue who I am."

The girl just grumbled but didn't seem to argue anymore. Ren was grateful he was next in line. He paid for a smoothie and turned to leave, holding back a smart comment he desperately wanted to make. Like how people could put sunglasses on Hitler but would be too stupid to know it's him and call him Fuhrer instead. But he left it at that and turned to head for the stairs.

There was a group of guys hovering around two girls at the foot of the stairs, not that he could see their faces, their backs were turned towards him. They all had similar uniforms to his. So they must all go to that same academy too. One girl had her hoodie pulled up, the other had black hair pulled into a ponytail.

One of them drawled out, "Come on girls, we just want to have a little fun."

Ren couldn't help but grimace.

" _What a creep._ " He thought.

He did a once over of the girls. Not that he could see their faces, but they were both lean and looked very fit. Way out of the league of these arrogant losers.

"And we said piss off or are you deaf?! We're not interested in going anywhere with you pricks!" The hooded girl hissed.

He clenched his fist and took a step but then froze.

_"You just worry about yourself for once. Keep your head down..."_

His father's advice from a few hours ago rang in his head. He grit his teeth and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking around them like everyone else; nobody seemed to be paying mind to the boys heckling these two girls. He clenched his jaw tightly and shut his eyes as he walked past them. That hooded girl was fiery... maybe she could handle this on her own.

Ren made it up the stairs, forcing his frustration and disgust at himself down as he checked his phone for a distraction. The crosswalk was littered with people, it seemed really busy in Shibuya today. Or perhaps that was normal? Not that he could be certain, being a small-town guy. He was following the directions on his phone after getting so turned around. He did his best not to get lost in the crowd.

That's when he heard an unfamiliar beeping coming from his phone.

A strange red eye with a star for a pupil popped up.

" _The hell... is this some kind of app? I never installed this._ " Ren thought to himself.

Suddenly the app enlarged itself, taking up over half his screen. He scrunched his face in confusion. Was it some kind of glitch? He kept tapping the phone screen and nothing seemed to be reacting.

" _It better not be a virus._ " He mentally grumbled.

Suddenly the voices of people around him were getting deeper and quieter? No they were... they were slowing down. The entire world around him was slowing down like in slow motion. It kept slowing gradually until everyone except himself froze completely. He whipped his head around, it was only indeed him that could move in this entire place, it was like everyone was hit with the pause button.

Did he fall asleep on the train again? Was this another weird dream?

In the center of the street a blue fire shot out, it was slowly taking shape, into a person? No, it had wings. He could see a devilish face. He squinted his eyes to try and see if he could see better. For some odd reason he wasn't afraid. Something felt...familiar about it. But he couldn't place why.

In the flames of this... thing... he could make out something.

"Is that...?"

It was his face, himself, inside the blue fire. This doppelganger looked up and had a wicked grin plastered on his face, and bright yellow eyes.

And for some reason that _still_ didn't frighten him.

He feels like he should be weirded out or scared and yet, he just stared with only confusion and curiosity. What was going on with him?

Not that it mattered, in the blink of an eye, that doppelganger vanished and the world returned to normal. Was he losing his mind? Or maybe he ate something bad? He hadn't been getting a whole lot of sleep lately. Perhaps the stress was affecting him. He glanced back down at his phone. That weird app was still there but it wasn't taking over his screen, he sighed and deleted it.

Whatever that crap was, it was over now. His father was probably right about him needing to stop eating so much junk and get more sleep.

He shook his head and resumed following the directions. There was a girl sitting by a stoplight he spotted from the corner of his eye, she had really curly short hair. He recognized that look in her eyes, she had the same look he has, resignation.

"Father, I know. I know I should have told you. I just wanted to see what it was like to ride the subway for once. Yes...I'm sorry. I know that was foolish of me. I promise I'll never do it again. Yes. Yes sir. Yes, I'll wait right here for the car. Thank you, father... I'm sorry for troubling you. Yes, I'll be sure to apologize to him as well."

He only caught a bit of half that conversation as he walked by but she looked absolutely defeated. It wasn't his business though, so he moved on. He needed to board the next train to Yongen-Jaya.

He walked up some stairs and managed to find what he was looking for. He felt his stomach grumble and noticed a sandwich stand. He noticed some blond guy arguing with the person working at the stand. Apparently, they were out of some bread that was his mother's favorite. It's nice that he cares about his mom but he didn't have to be so loud when saying vulgar words. He ignored the sandwich stand and the vulgar boy, and decided to head to the vending machines instead on the other side. After buying some snacks he turned to a man at the ticket stand, handing his ticket, and he walked through to the platform. Finally, after this he would be in Yongen.

* * *

He finally made it to his last stop. Yongen-Jaya. There he would look for Sojiro Sakura, the man who would be taking him in. He figured he should start asking for directions to Sakura-san's place. He noticed a cop and walked up straight up to him. The cop seemed rather grumpy and indignant towards him, so he ignored him and kept walking.

Ren just sighed and headed down the street. He noticed there was a mother with a little girl walking their dog. So he approached them. They thankfully pointed him towards the residence...well the mother did; the daughter was more invested in the dog, cooing over the old akita. The mother told the daughter to stop smothering the dog due to his age.

Ren walked down to the street where the lady directed. The sign did say Sakura residence, so he pressed the bell. He waited... and nothing. He pressed it again... still nothing.

He thought he saw a shadow of someone moving in the window upstairs from the corner of his eye, yet when he looked up, he saw no one. He waited for another minute and nothing still. He sighed and wondered if he should call his dad.

There was a deliveryman that walked up behind him, Ren moved out of his way as the man rang the doorbell. Ren figured if someone was home, they'd probably answer for him. So he waited. And...still nothing. Ren couldn't help but frown in annoyance.

The deliveryman mumbled something about Sakura-san having a business and wondering if he should take it to something called _"Leblanc"_.

Ren did have nothing better to do, if Sakura-san was working then he probably wasn't at home. He decided he'd go look for this Leblanc.

He sighed as the mother and her daughter with the dog were long gone. He'd probably have to go ask that unfriendly grump of a cop for directions. The cop seemed less grumpy when he approached him, he tried to appear meeker looking. Maybe there was some advantage to these stupid fake glasses?

The cop pointed him in the right direction toward the shops and told him which one to look for. He politely bowed to the man and left. He found a café labeled _"Leblanc"_ with a sign that said coffee and curry... that was certainly an interesting combination.

He went to open the door but someone else already opened it from inside. Out came a guy about his height. He had very light brown colored eyes, like the color of sand. His hair was a bit messy, almost feathery looking, and an auburn color. The guy had on white medical face mask over his mouth, he had on a plain gray long-sleeved shirt and mahogany colored pants. The boy didn't seem to notice Ren even as he almost ran into him, too busy playing some game on his Bintendo 3SD.

The boy stopped himself thankfully last second when Ren stepped out of his way.

"Excuse you." Ren stated.

"Right... sorry about that." The boy said tiredly.

Now that the guy was up close, he noticed he looked a bit pale and his eyes seemed very tired. The strange kid left without another word as he headed further down the street.

Ren walked into the café and saw an old couple conversing with a man behind the counter. The elderly couple were apparently talking about the same mental shutdowns the news was talking about. That was when the guy behind the counter looked up and spotted Ren. He was an older man with dark hair and glasses. If he had to guess that was probably Sojiro Sakura, but he didn't want to make assumptions.

"Well we'll be leaving now." The old man said, "Gotta go catch up with that grandson of ours."

"Thank you again for the delicious coffee." The old woman said, bowing her head.

Ren moved out of their way so they could get through. The older gentleman stared at Ren with indifference.

"Hello, is Sakura-san here? I was told—"

"So, you're the guy huh?"

* * *

**Fun fact, all my chapter titles will be references to music tracks/titles in the Persona series. And cookie for anyone who realized the Hitler sunglasses joke was a reference to Persona 2.**

**Another fun fact...I don't curse at all irl...so writing for Persona will be...interesting for me lol. I know I do the occasional hells and damns in my Ace Attorney fic, but...that's nothing. Ryuji alone is gonna be quite the trip for me lol. But I have to remain faithful so I promise I won't censor the language just because it feels weird for me to type it lol.**

**I created a tumblr blog that already has art for my fic.**

**I should have quite a bit of art on there that will tell you what's going to be different in this story, especially with Akechi and Kasumi lol.**

**To make a long story short, Kasumi was originally going to be an OC character for this story when I conceived it looong before Royal was announced. I had in mind a female protagonist OC that would have her own story alongside the male protagonist in this story. That character eventually became Ren's sister, Reika. I didn't want to scrap the character design so I just used it for Reika, but Reika's design was originally for this main female character. When Royal was revealed I loved Kasumi's design so much I decided to make her the female protagonist.**

**Now Kasumi will probably be nothing like she is in P5Royal. Because originally it was going to be an OC, I'm keeping with what I had in mind for the OC, so she's kinda Kasumi in name and design only. Her story will be extremely different. And please do NOT tell me what Kasumi's story is in P5Royal. I've been avoiding spoilers like the plague! I want to experience it first hand when it comes to the states! I'm going in completely cold! Anyone who spoils me will die!**

**Ahem...so anyways. Kasumi will have the codename Royal for this fic, because when revamping Akechi I wanted his codename to be Ace, to match with Joker. The female protagonist I always wanted to be called Royal, as in Royal Flush, like a playing card motif for the three. I thought of this way before Royal was announced, so you could imagine my shock when the next game was called P5Royal.**

**I do want to state however this story would be very different if it was a game and not a fanfic, as both are two different mediums, this whole intro wouldn't happen as I much prefer how the game opens and I love the flash forwards and back between the story and the interrogation room. But that wouldn't work for this fanservice filled story that I wanted to have callbacks to Persona 4 and 3. Plus I wanted to indulge and meet with Ren's family.**

**Speaking of his family, people always tend to portray his parents as uncaring douches or powerless but loving parents. I wanted something in between. A powerless but caring father, and a mother who means well but is very ignorant and a source of friction for the protagonist. I thought having marital troubles would really flesh Ren out since he can't be a silent protagonist in a fanfic.**

**Back to Kasumi, Ryuuhiro is a character that is an expy based on Phoenix Wright, I'm a huge Ace Attorney fan. He's a close friend and guardian of Kasumi for this story. You'll learn more about him soon later, and I promise to make a sketch of him soon and post it on my blog.**

**And speaking of fanservice I thought it'd be cool to have some cameos, besides Ryotaro Dojima from Persona 4, I wonder how many references you caught? I referenced many side characters in Persona 4 as well as main characters, and Aika from the anime was referenced, the Persona 4 Dancing game too! I have a lot of ships you'll notice, even crack ships. What can I say? I'm a shipping slut. Also side note, the Shiroku Pub hostess didn't have a name in Persona 4, so I just gave her the name Mei.**

**And I'm sure Persona 3 fans noticed the references I made too. I know I didn't have to go so heavy with continuity references to P3 and P4 and the side games but I love continuity references. One of P5's strong points is that you don't have to play previous games to get into the series, and I highly respect it for that. After all P5 was my first Persona game! But as I started getting into the others and learning more I wanted to show some love to 4 and 3 as well (oh and the side games), plus I LOVE stories with continuity references up the wazoo! (I mean I am also a Kingdom Hearts fan lol, but don't worry, we're not gonna get to Kingdom Hearts levels haha, I'm no Nomura!)**

**Speaking of cameos, we had Kasumi and my OC Ryuuhiro. Also Mishima. Then Yusuke and Hifumi, in this story these two will actually be close friends instead of just acquaintances. We also had Makoto and Akechi, in this story, Makoto and Akechi actually are childhood friends and known each other for a while, he's like family to the Niijimas here...I'll get more into that story much later. Then we get an Ann and Shiho cameo. Then Haru. A wild hidden Futaba cameo. And lastly my OC Hayato, who is also a friend of Hifumi's and Yusuke's and will play a bigger role to the story later on.**

**I thought it'd be great to have these characters cameo before their official introductions.**

**Side note: Ryuuhiro absolutely would be voiced by Sam Riegal because Phoenix Wright lol. I imagine Hayato would be voiced by Kyle Herbert, Adult Gohan from DBZ, who I think would be prefect fit for Hayato. It's a joke, since Yusuke and Hifumi and Hayato are all friends in this version, it's a Fire Emblem Awakening alumni. In the English dub, Matt Mercer voices Yusuke who also voices Chrom. Hifumi is Sumia from Awakening too. Then we'll have Hayato who, Kyle Herbert also voices Frederick in Awakening. But he'd be using his Gohan voice instead of his Frederick voice...I just thought it'd be kind of funny.**

**You also probably noticed in the summary that I'm ship teasing Kasumi and Theo...yes, THAT Theo. More on that later, you'll have to read to find out lol.**

**To my readers of The Great Dual Substitute Turnabout, no I'm not dead, a lot of irl crap happened among other stuff, but chapter 12 is in the process and will be done as soon as possible, I promise!**

**I hope you all like this first chapter! I'm so excited to finally publish this story!**

**Thank you to all my friends who supported me publishing this! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Reviews are the lifeblood of authors!**

**Thanks again, have a nice day!**


	2. Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren wakes up in some weird blue prison with some weird mouthy twins and a strange long nosed man, meets a pretty girl with a kind smile, runs into everyone's favorite vulgar boy, and then plot happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I've gotten so much more fanart for this fic made as well as commissions! I have a personal tumblr made for this fic!
> 
> https://persona5reignited.tumblr.com
> 
> Also a special shoutout to my beta eiranerys, who helped out a ton with this chapter. Also she's got her own Persona fanfic, it's called Ace In The Hole. Basically it's an AU where Ken Amada, now a third year in high school, moves to Tokyo to invitigate the stuff going down in P5 and ends up joining the Phantom Thieves. I highly recommend it!
> 
> Anyway on with the chapter!

**_Saturday, April 9th_ **

Ren was so drained from everything. Not from all the cleaning he just did—though that had been just _exhausting._ His body was aching now. But with how the café owner obviously didn't care to make this dusty mess of an attic livable, someone had to do the job.

So much had happened all at once and before he knew it, he wound up in some attic of a café. He certainly wouldn't have imagined this is where he'd be living for a whole year. He had thought he'd at least be put in a guest room, but apparently that was too much to ask for. And to make things more annoying, it seemed even this Sojiro Sakura wasn't going to cut him some slack either.

He should be used to it by now. Everyone looking down on him or immediately judging him. He was no longer under the protection of his father. No Reika to complain to, or no Raito to distract him. He could always call to complain but that wouldn't be right. This was his only option at the moment. And his family had enough problems. He had put them through enough already. Just another thing he'd have to force a grin and just bear it.

He sighed after checking his texts one more time.

He already responded to his father that he got there safely hours ago. He deliberately ignored the text his sister sent hours earlier asking if he's talked to their mother at all; he quickly changed the subject and had her talking about Port Island and what she thought of her new surroundings. She apparently got a tour of her new high school immediately, soon as she got to the city. It's no surprise their mother arranged for it as soon as possible. Not that Reika would mind. He knew his sister—she was always on the move, hardly ever stopped to rest.

She was gabbing all about how cool Gekkoukan High was, how everything was so high tech and how the buildings were all shiny and new. Though that wasn't a surprise—Gekkoukan was personally sponsored by the Kirijo Group. The courtyard was apparently gorgeous too. It even had a _fountain._ Apparently the Kirijo Group CEO commissioned it to commemorate an important friend who died a few years ago. The friend was really involved at the school apparently. He worked for student council, was in several clubs... the list went on.

She also sent him a bunch of winking emojis when she was talking about her tour guide. A third-year boy and the newly elected student council president, Amada... something. He didn't really care to scroll back up to verify whoever this guy's name was during many texts, rambling about her tour of the school. She just kept gushing about how her student council president and senpai was so polite, and so gentlemanly... and _so_ handsome.

He glared at the phone screen. Reika obviously did that on purpose.

Ever since she hit puberty, she always got the attention of teenage boys. His sister was adorable—even he had to admit that—so it made sense. Still didn't mean he had to like it. Reika thought his overprotective brotherly instincts were funny, so she would deliberately flirt sometimes to see if it'd annoy him. And he hated how it always worked.

After some back and forth, she finally stopped replying for 15 minutes. His sister is usually quick to respond, so Ren figured she must have finally fallen asleep. Probably with her phone on top of her face or something, knowing her. He tried to smirk at that thought, but he couldn't muster up the energy.

He was just so tired. Physically and mentally—but especially the latter. It was pointless to brood about it, but he hated feeling so miserable and helpless. How so quickly everything was broken down and he was effortlessly swept under the rug like meaningless garbage. It was a rude, bitter awakening to his naive mindset about how the world worked.

The memory of that night played in his mind again as he grit his teeth, glaring at the ceiling of the musty attic. He sighed to himself. Moping over it wouldn't do anything. He decided it would be best to get some rest so he closed his eyes, only to be interrupted by a jingle coming from his phone. He was puzzled at who'd be trying to call him at this hour, so he opened his eyes and pulled his phone out.

That specific ringtone he had set on his phone normally indicated someone was calling him. For some odd reason, that was not the case.

To make things even more weird, he noticed that strange red eyeball looking app on his menu screen again.

" _That app again_ — _this is kinda creepy. Pretty sure I deleted it._ " He thought to himself.

He let out another sigh as he deleted it again. He set the phone down on the windowsill next to his bed as his eyelids grew heavy. He fell asleep almost in no time.

* * *

Blissful, dark silence... that is where his mind was. A nice dreamless sleep. He felt as though he wasn't asleep for long though. He jolted awake for some reason, as his eyes snapped open while he let out a gasp of air. Immediately, he knew something was off. Waking up in an unfamiliar place that wasn't his home would be a given...but this wasn't even the unfamiliar attic. The walls were covered in a striking blue color, and looked like velvet. More importantly was a chain dangling next to him. The faint sound of water dripping made him turn, only to see a plain looking white toilet.

Before he could mull over the thought of why would he wake up in some place where there would be a toilet right next to where he was sleeping, or velvet walls, or chains. He realized the surface he was laying on was very hard and flat. It wasn't a bed at all, it was a wooden board nailed to the wall.

He was extremely confused to what was going on. Despite feeling slightly disoriented still, he moved to sit up. The rattling of chains echoed around him. He then noticed his wrists felt very heavy. He looked down to see his arms were shackled and bound by chains.

Even stranger, he was in some kind of prison garb.

" _Am I having another one of those weird, stupid dreams again?_ " He thought to himself.

He placed a hand on his head trying to figure out what was going on with him and this weird new dream. He was distracted by the sound of a mischievous chuckle. It sounded very young and feminine. He turned to the sound to see bars of a prison cell. Footsteps echoed from the left.

A young girl wearing blue with an eye-patch over her left eye appeared. She had striking white hair tied into a braid. Even more striking was her right eye, it was a very brightly colored yellow. Footsteps then echoed from the right. An identical young girl wearing the same outfit appeared to the right side of the cell door. The only difference was this girl had on an eye-patch over her right eye, and her hair was pulled up into two buns on each side of her head. She had the same hair and eye color as the other girl. Their expressions couldn't be more different however despite their identical looks. The girl with the braid looked rather bored and indifferent, while the girl with the buns had a haughty smile on her face.

He sat up to confront these strangely dressed kids, as soon as he rose to his feet, he realized his his left leg was heavy and would not cooperate naturally. He glanced down and noticed a shackle there as well, attached to a heavy iron ball and chain. Ren frowned. This prison cliché of a dream was starting to get old.

He glared as he awkwardly shuffled to the cell door, the extra baggage on his arms and leg making things far more of a hassle than necessary. He gripped onto the bars to confront the two strange kids. They just quietly side-stepped in unison, in the opposite direction, looking back towards something behind them. That was when he realized there was someone in the center of... wherever this was.

There was some old man at a small table sitting in a chair at the center of this circular room, with multiple jail cells from what he could quickly observe. He was in a black business suit, and had pointy ears and an extremely long nose. Despite his head facing more downward he was looking directly at Ren, his hands clasped together under his nose. He had almost a literal ear to ear grin plastered on his face. He looked like he had stepped out of a Destiny movie, like one of those creepy minions of the main villain.

The long-nosed man raised his head; his hands moved, one remained under his chin while the other gestured toward Ren almost like an invitation.

"Trickster... welcome to my Velvet Room." His deep baritone voice echoed all around the room.

He really had no idea what was going on with this dream. He began to feel frustrated as he gripped the bars harder as he shook them while grunting.

"So you've come to, Inmate." The girl with buns said in a rather snooty tone.

He paused the moment she spoke.

"Huh?"

Something about the kid's voice felt familiar to him, but he couldn't place why.

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep, you are only experiencing this as a dream." The girl with the braid said in a dull tone.

Another sense of familiarity twinged in him. Both of these kids sounded familiar to him but he couldn't place where or why.

The abrasive twin interrupted his thoughts as she nagged in a snotty tone, "You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!"

This one had quite the attitude.

He was about to shoot the brat another glare but was interrupted from that thought when the long-nosed man spoke up again.

"Welcome, I am delighted to make your acquaintance." The deep voice said in a friendly manner, he then began to explain while his fingers tapped against his table, "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a "contract" may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters."

Summoned? What was he talking about?

"It involves your life as well." The long-nosed man said.

" _Okay subconscious I get it. The stress of this stupid probation is making me dream about being in some weird jail. Can we get this dream over with?_ " Ren thought to himself.

He was getting annoyed. Friendly or not, he was tired already of the cryptic routine from this Igor guy and this stupid blue velvet prison room with its stupid prison aesthetics.

"Important matters? Like maybe about letting me out?" Ren said sarcastically.

"You will cease from making jokes to our master, Inmate. Disrespect will not be tolerated." The girl with the braid said neutrally.

The man called Igor ignored his sarcasm and glanced around at the room, the smile never once leaving his face.

"Still, this is a surprise... the state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a _'prisoner'_ of fate."

Ren glared as he gripped the bars harder. He could hardly see what was so amusing about this stupid dream.

This Igor continued, "In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

Again with more cryptic nonsense. When would he wake up already?

"Ruin? Are you kidding me?" Ren asked unimpressed.

"Shut up and listen, Inmate!" The girl with buns snapped.

Igor just chuckled but then resumed his vague explanation.

"I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be _'rehabilitated'_. Rehabilitated toward freedom... that is your only means to avoid ruin. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

Ren just blinked.

"Wait what?"

Igor chuckled, "You didn't decline, hm? Very well, that is enough."

Ren mentally grumbled, " _That wasn't a yes either! What the hell are you talking about?_ "

"Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation."

Before Ren could demand what he was talking about, the two girls straightened up and swiftly turned around to be facing Ren again.

Igor spoke up again, "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline, to your left is Justine. They serve as wardens here."

"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like." Caroline, the twin with the attitude, said.

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators... that is, if you remain obedient." Justine, the twin with a monotone personality, said.

"Yeah okay, and my name is Ren Am—"

"We already know your name, Inmate." Caroline interrupted, with a very condescending tone.

He swallowed back a very snooty retort of his own, and asked instead, "So since we're all introduced, can you explain what the heck is going on? What do you mean by rehabilitation? And distortion? And ruin?"

Igor just chuckled again.

"In due time my Trickster, all will become clear eventually."

"That's not good enough, I had it with this vague runaround." Ren tried to keep his frustration out of his tone.

That girl, Caroline, whipped out an electric baton and smacked it against his cell door. He jumped back surprisingly quickly despite the handicap of the weight and shackles. He really hadn't been expecting that.

"Learn your place Inmate! You are in the presence of our master and you will learn respect!" Caroline shouted, scowling at Ren.

She nearly electrocuted him! Sure, the stress of everything was obviously doing some weird stuff in his subconscious to create this weird prison aesthetics dream, but why on Earth would his subconscious give this bratty child a dangerous item such as that?!

"It is quite alright, Caroline. I can understand your frustration but I am not offended." Igor said with a slight shrug.

Caroline nodded then turned back to glare at Ren again, "Be grateful our master is forgiving your insolence, Inmate!"

Igor shook his head with another deep chuckle echoing through the room.

"Trickster, I can understand your frustration as well. But I promise all will be made clear eventually. But do know this... the rehabilitation will not only aid you, but it may even aid the world, and us as well."

Ren raised a brow, still feeling confused.

"Distortion and ruin threatens all, even us. You are not the only one who is trapped. For we too are prisoners of fate." Justine said dully.

Ren crinkled his brows as he looked at girl with a braid with a puzzled expression.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"We are stuck, Inmate! We don't know why but for some reason we cannot leave this place if we wanted to! The indignity of it all! Who ever heard of wardens who can't come and go to their own prison as they please?" Caroline huffed in exasperation.

Trapped? Leave? This was just an odd dream. Why should his subconscious care about these imaginary people?

"What's even more puzzling is we cannot remember why this has happened. And perhaps more. There are memory gaps that are a great cause of concern. Something messed with our memories and trapped us here in this place. It must be because of the distortion." Justine said quietly.

"Yes exactly, the distortion is clearly to blame for this! But you will help us, Inmate! By helping you with your rehabilitation and preventing ruin, you will help us with this annoying predicament we're stuck in!" Caroline said crisply.

"Huh? Why me?" Ren blinked.

Just what was going on?

Caroline jabbed her left index finger at him, "Because Inmate, this place we can't escape, yet for some reason a weakling like you was allowed in!"

"You do not look all that impressive, but our master feels you could be useful. So we shall aid you and in return you shall help us rid the distortion." Justine said with barely any emotion.

"I'm touched by your faith in me." Ren deadpanned.

They really knew how to butter up a guy, didn't they?

"Don't let our high expectations go to your head!" Caroline snapped.

" _High expectations she says... sure runt._ " Ren mentally quipped.

Igor cleared his throat, a huge grin still plastered on his face.

"It is almost time. It appears that the night is waning... I shall explain the roles of the twins at another occasion, and I promise all your questions will be eventually answered, my Trickster. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."

Igor suddenly pointed up to the ceiling, and a loud alarm echoed through the whole place.

"Time's up! Now hurry up and go back to sleep." Caroline said haughtily.

He was already sleeping—what was she talking about? He glared at her as he gripped onto the bars again of his cell door, but suddenly he felt extremely light-headed as the alarm echoed loudly around him.

Everything faded to white as his mind felt fuzzy for a bit. Gradually, his weariness started to leave. He became aware of the sounds of birds chirping outside his window.

"Hmm...?" He mumbled sleepily.

He then shot his eyes open when clarity hit him of the alarm sound, coming from his phone. He was back in the attic again.

"What the hell was that about?" He grumbled as he rubbed his forehead with one hand and reached for his phone with the other.

* * *

**_Monday, April 11th_ **

Ren was in a really foul mood.

Yeah everything went to hell in a handbasket from the moment he tried to help that woman from that drunk prick. But every day _had_ to be a constant reminder why everyone and everything _sucked_.

From his family issues, to everyone in his hometown turning on him the first chance they could, to his father trying to constantly put up with this crap and give him a brave face for his sake... he really hated it. With every fiber of his being. And then he came _here._

From the moment he met his temporary guardian, Sojiro Sakura, the man took every second to lecture him about how Ren was a complete idiot and brought this all on himself. Lecturing him to learn his place. To mind his own damn business. That he was a pain that his parents threw out. Maybe that was true for his mother, but it's not like his dad _wanted_ to ship him off or have all this garbage happen. Though he supposed he was a burden to his father and siblings, even if they refused to admit it. At least with him being gone, his family might have a chance of restarting.

Ren shook his head; he was not going to give that douchebag coffee-curry shop owner the satisfaction of agreeing with him!

 _"God, if I have to hear another one of his "and if you cause me any trouble, I'll throw you out on the streets" speeches again..."_ Ren grumbled mentally.

If he wasn't underage, he could probably start a drinking game every time the old man said that. It's only been two days since he got to Tokyo and the man was already a broken record.

He hasn't even done anything yet!

And what made it worse, the café owner _knew_ the real story, not the crap the courts put down in the official reports! The man was so flippant about the truth, about how Ren was only trying to save a woman from being dragged off and... _God_ knows what that drunk was going to do to her! He didn't want to even entertain the thought!

Sojiro Sakura was told the truth from his father most likely, and the man _still_ decided Ren was some punk who deserved nothing but scorn.

And the crap didn't stop there!

It was obvious the school would know about his record, how could they not? No school except this one was willing to overlook his false record. But the principal, the way he talked down to Ren put him on edge. Like he should be grateful that a bunch of stuck up pricks decided to oh so graciously grant him mercy and allow his lowly self in their godly presence.

" _What a self-righteous fatass._ " Ren thought as he clenched his right hand into a fist inside his pocket.

His very being just _oozed_ smugness. Just thinking about him irritated Ren.

And then the cherry on top of this asinine garbage, was his new dear homeroom teacher. She had the nerve to whine and act like taking him into her class was nothing but a chore she didn't deserve.

" _You're a teacher, it's your job to help your students and guide them, right? Oh, but you're obviously too good for some problem child like me, huh? I'm so sorry I'm such a burden for you, Teach! You want to trade places? God, this place really sucks!_ " Ren growled mentally.

And to think that Raito was so excited about him going to Tokyo. What a joke! Ever since he had arrived, people just kept shoving the incident in his face time and time again. He was sick of it. So, so sick of it. He wished he was deaf, so that he wouldn't have to keep hearing this drivel.

His phone suddenly beeped, he looked down and glowered. A text from his mother, _of all people_ , demanding to know why he hasn't called or texted her.

She had _no right_ to demand that answer from him! He clenched his teeth as he squeezed his phone. He quickly deleted the message before he'd stupidly throw his phone in a childish temper tantrum. Last thing he needed was breaking it in a moronic fit of rage.

Ren almost wanted to send her a text back mouthing off to her, or blocking her number. But he knew if he did that she'd just nag at his father, and his father was stressed enough already as it is. No need to cause more problems. He sighed immediately; he was already causing problems. By ignoring her she was going to get fed up and bark at his dad anyway.

"Sakura-san is right. I really am nothing but a pain in the ass to my family..." He mumbled in defeat.

He felt his eyes get misty and he glared, dammit all, he was _not_ going to cry here on the subway platform! He rushed to the bathroom; he can get on the next train. Even with that accident yesterday, he still left pretty early. He ran to the sink, ripping off the stupid fake glasses, and turned on the faucet. He splashed cold water on his face, hopefully to knock some sense into him. He was not going to let his frustrations cause him to actually cry in public like some little kid. Yes, he was pissed off and stressed out, but he didn't need this right now.

Ren looked at himself in the mirror. He looked so _pathetic_. He sighed, too tired to care anymore. At least his eyes weren't puffy or red. He dried off his face with a paper towel then he slipped back on the stupid fake glasses and grabbed his school bag. He messed around with his bangs, making certain he looked more presentable. Thankfully the handful of men in the bathroom didn't pay him any mind. Too busy either on their phones or about their business. Ren let out another sigh and headed out.

So many people had no manners it seemed. Several individuals rudely bumping into him yet not even acknowledging his existence as he made his way back to the platform. Some even had the nerve to tell him to watch _where he was going,_ when they were the ones who were not paying attention and bumping into him.

The shoving and bumping did not stop even as he got onto the train to head to Shibuya. He had heard about how packed the subways were in Tokyo, but this was just insane. He found a spare seat and was about to sit down, when some rude male shoved him aside and sat down there. He refused to make eye contact with Ren as he opened up his newspaper and began to skim it. Ren wanted to be pissed off and snarl at the guy. But it seems this was how things are now... no, it's how they always were. He was just too naïve to see it.

He shoved his hand into his pocket and just grabbed onto a pole close to the door as more people piled in and if he bothered to care anymore, he would feel claustrophobic. But he didn't, he was too tired. He needed to stop reacting and just accept things how were. He hugged his school bag closer as he waited for the train to arrive at its station.

After several minutes, they finally came to his stop. He left the train and made his way to head outside. Ren then noticed how it was beginning to rain. He sighed again. The rain was supposed to start up later according to the weather report, so he didn't think he'd need to take an umbrella. More rotten luck for him it seemed. What a shocker.

He was too drained to even care. He made his way quickly to the nearby awning before he got caught up further in this mess. He thankfully ran over to it in time before the sprinkle turned into a shower.

Two girls wearing the Shujin uniform ran passed him, both each holding an umbrella.

"This sucks!" The one with the green umbrella whined.

"I left early today too!" The girl with the pink umbrella complained.

" _At least you have umbrellas with you._ " Ren thought with a heavy exhale.

He checked his phone to look over his map again. He didn't want to get turned around and get lost in the rain on his first day, then show up late looking like a drowned rat.

A beep on his phone alerted him to the strange eyeball app that showed up in the middle of his map screen. He let out a heavier sigh as it began to enlarge just like last time.

" _This again? I suppose I should be thankful that this time I'm not hallucinating time is stopping and some doppelganger demon wearing my face is shooting out of the ground in some blue fire._ " Ren mentally grumbled to himself.

The sound of footsteps lightly splashing through the shallow puddles alerted him someone was heading his way. He looked away from his phone to see another female student approaching him. She had a hoodie on underneath the Shujin jacket, and bright red leggings that really stood out. She slowed her pace soon as she made her way to the awning next to him, his eyes following her movements the whole time.

He couldn't see her face, but it dawned on him he'd seen that hoodie before. If he wasn't mistaken, he was pretty certain this was that same fiery girl who was with that ponytail girl, that was getting heckled by those obnoxious guys at the station the day he arrived. She started wiping some droplets off her sleeve and moved both hands to remove her hood soon as she was finished with dusting herself off.

He momentarily held his breath as his heart slightly quickening the moment that hood was removed.

Part of him wanted to scream to get a hold of himself, the other part of him wanted to slap himself senseless. Both parts were apparently drowned out by his stupid younger 13-year-old self who just hit puberty and discovered girls were attractive.

Gorgeous did not even _begin_ to describe her. Maybe it was the fact that she had some exotic features, but this girl was _stunning._

Her blonde hair looked so soft and thick... and God, pigtails! She had them pulled up in pigtails! He was too embarrassed to ever admit it out loud, but thanks to Risette, he had an appreciation for pigtails. Something about the way it frames a really cute girl's face. He can't describe why, but he loves it.

And her eyes! Her eyes were a bright blue with long curly lashes. Her skin was so clear. And her lips were a rosy pink...

Oh hell... he was staring.

Like some kind of creepy idiot, he was staring. He was still staring. He needed to stop staring, before she realizes that a gawking moron was staring at her.

The beautiful blonde just sighed as she scanned the rainy scenery. And he was still staring, dammit all.

He really needed to get a grip; it's not like he hadn't seen a pretty girl before. He's seen plenty! Even flirted with a handful and dated quite a few. He was not some idiot who didn't know how to talk to girls! Despite revealing herself to be a real wolf in sheep's clothing, most were jealous soon as they saw the last girl he dated. He was not some socially awkward dork who didn't know how to talk to pretty girls.

Although, she was probably the prettiest he's ever seen. Maybe even prettier than Risette...

" _No! That's crazy talk! Get a hold of yourself! It's just a cute girl you idiot, not some mythical creature never before seen by mankind! Say something or look away you creepy, stupid—_ "

His thoughts came to a grinding halt when he realized she noticed him from the corner of her eye. And damn him, he was _still_ gawking at her!

She slowly turned her head to stare back at him, confused. And like a moron, he was _still staring._ She quirked a brow, before she reached forward. He stiffened as her hand brushed past his bangs. She then held up a small flower petal. And he was gawking still, dammit.

He wanted to sputter out an apology for his rude behavior but all internal yelling at his idiocy came crashing down when she did something else completely unexpected.

She smiled.

It was such a little, soft smile.

His mind was blank momentarily, like he was in a trance. It was short and brief, but it didn't feel like it at the time. The moment she broke eye contact and looked away, he finally could think again.

When was the last time someone ever genuinely smiled at him? Even his own family had pity hidden behind their smiles they gave to him, even his little brother. He expected her to be weirded out, glare at him, walk off disgusted, or tell him off for staring at her for so long.

But she pulled some petal out of his hair he didn't even realize was there and just... smiled at him?

And it... was a beautiful smile.

He forced himself to look away and stopped staring at her, looking to the rain ahead just like her. He should say something to her. He should be polite and introduce himself, or at least thank her for getting that petal out of his hair.

Just as he took in a small breath, a car pulled up in front of them, the window rolling down.

"Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school?" The man addressed the blonde girl; it seemed he knew her, "You're gonna be late."

He didn't miss the way the girl tensed just so slightly that it was almost unnoticeable.

" _What was that about?_ " He questioned to himself.

"Um, sure. Thank you." The girl answered.

Her smile seemed... less genuine. At least compared to the one she gave Ren not two minutes ago.

She walked away from the awning and towards the car. Something didn't feel right.

_"Please help!" The woman's desperate plea echoed._

_"Damn brat, I'll sue!" That drunk man hissed._

He winced. Thinking about that now at a time like this? Okay, something felt off but... unless he _wasn't_ being paranoid. He took a small step forward and stopped himself.

His father's warning to start worrying about himself popped into his mind. But it was also compounded with Sojiro Sakura's constant lecturing that he needed to learn to mind his own business.

The man in the car was oblivious to Ren's inner turmoil, but he diverted his attention away from the blonde and turned to Ren. Flashing him an easy-going, cheerful smile.

"Do you need a lift too?" The man asked in a friendly tone.

Ren was just being paranoid. He'd been so stressed out from the incident and the trial and all the crap happening that it was clouding his judgement and making him assume the worst. He gave the man an awkward smile and just waved back.

"Nah...!"

He wanted to wince at how forced that sounded. The man didn't seem to mind. He turned back to the blonde who got into the car.

The girl started to seat-belt herself in and the window slowly rolled up, but before it rolled up completely, he caught a glimpse of her eyes. She had such a... sad and defeated expression. It was such a stark contrast to the warm smile she gave him earlier.

He sighed, he needed to stop it. He was being paranoid. He didn't know these people or their situation. Not to mention she could have made that expression for multiple reasons. He should really learn by now to stop worrying about problems that didn't ask for him to butt in.

It wasn't his concern.

The sound of someone sprinting across the ground, feet striking the concrete and shallow puddles distracted him from watching the car drive away. A boy about his age with bleach blond hair just barely stopped in his tracks right in front of him. The boy was also wearing a Shujin uniform.

He wasn't sure why but he had the feeling he'd seen him somewhere. He wondered if they bumped into each other on the train.

"Dammit... screw that pervy teacher!"

No wait, he recognized that voice... at least he thinks.

"Pervy... teacher?" Ren mumbled.

The boy turned to glare at him and as Ren pondered why he got a sense of deja vu from him, he finally recalled after a couple seconds. It was 2 days ago when he first came here. On his way to the station he needed to get to Yongen, this was the same vulgar boy that was arguing with the worker at the sandwich stand.

* * *

Ren groaned as he felt like his head was throbbing. He thought he heard someone talking… well more like _yelling_ at him... but it was muffled.

What was he doing again? Why was his head hurting?

Slowly they were getting clearer.

"Hey! Wake up!"

That voice... it was that vulgar boy. He slowly tried to lift himself up but hissed as he felt pain throbbing more in his temples. He kept his eyes shut tightly as he tried to recall what happened.

The blonde girl, a car, the vulgar boy... something about a... Kamoshida? School...? Rain... gonna be late?

A... castle?

It all came rushing back into an instant.

That weird castle! He and the other kid got jumped by those medieval freaks soon as they stepped into the building! He snapped his eyes open and nearly fell over but felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?" The blond boy asked, sounding surprisingly concerned.

He grunted while nodding his head, the pain subsiding. Stars finally stopped decorating his vision.

Ren rubbed his forehead as he replied, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I see." The other guy said, then glancing around at their surroundings, "Looks like this ain't no dream."

Ren looked around at their surroundings and realized they were in some dungeon. And he almost wanted to burst out laughing at how ludicrous it was. This was real? After all the absurd dreams he'd been having, he was supposed to believe it was real?

But it felt way too real, and he had the bumps to prove it.

"Gah! What's going on?" The vulgar boy exclaimed, voicing Ren's own thoughts.

The boy ran ahead to the cell bars, pounding on them and demanding someone to let them out of there. Ren sat up and looked at their unsettling surroundings some more.

This had to be some kind of twisted joke, right?

The other guy trekked back to where Ren was sitting at the back of the cell. He was ranting about this situation and wondering if it was some kind of TV set. It was way too messed up to be some prank game-show, and why would they bother with a couple of high school kids? Maybe he and the vulgar boy were both suffering from the same delirium.

The blond boy's ranting and Ren's thoughts were interrupted by an extremely loud scream that sounded like... they were in a lot of pain. And they were in some dingy dungeon. Ren felt his heart freeze.

"What the hell was that just now?" The vulgar boy asked anxiously.

They both ran up to the cell bars to try and see if they could look out to wherever there were. He felt like his heart was pounding in his ears. As he heard more muffled screams in the distance that almost sounded like begging.

This was not happening. Ren honestly felt like he was going to be sick.

"Whoa... whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...! You're shittin' me, right?" The vulgar boy paled next to him.

Ren felt his heart starting to race while dread prickled inside his chest. He was only half paying attention the vulgar boy talking about how they needed to get out of there. He aimlessly followed the guy around as they started poking around their cell.

This had to be a bad dream. It just had to be.

They were distracted from their search for a way out when they heard clanking footsteps approach. Ren had a feeling things were about to go from bad to worse.

And he was proven right. The guards said their sentence was decided, _execution._

If this was a joke, it was the worst in history. What did they even do to deserve this?!

This was stupid. It was just a bad dream. He and this kid were both going to wake up from this nightmare. He was not going to die in some creepy castle with some guy who he didn't even know the name of.

In his internal panicking, he didn't notice a man walking up to their cells as the guards cleared a path for him. He was dressed in practically nothing but a tacky cape, a childish looking crown on his head, and a pink speedo.

The vulgar kid was questioning the guards and the strange man. It took Ren a moment to shake off his shock. He realized he recognized that man whose voice sounded weirdly distorted. He looked just like that teacher who picked up the really pretty girl he ran into. Only despite his garish attire there was something unsettling. His eyes, they were yellow and... glowing!

Kamoshida, that was the guy's name.

"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto..." The man with the creepy distorted voice replied.

Ren glanced over at the vulgar boy, no, Sakamoto. At least now he knew what to call this kid.

This Kamoshida referred to himself as the "king". And he and Sakamoto were arguing back and forth. Sakamoto then called him an asshole (which he was). This set the "king" off.

"Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me—the king!" He exclaimed.

The "king" smirked darkly and Ren felt a shiver crawl up his back.

"The punishment for that is death. It's time for an execution! Take him out!"

Ren felt cold. Both he and Sakamoto slowly backed away from the cell door.

"S-Stop it...!" Sakamoto replied weakly.

They opened the door to their cell, the armored guards all piling in. He and Sakamoto were separated, backed into opposite corners. Sakamoto cursed and tackled one of the guards, actually knocking him down. Just as he called out to Ren for them to make a run for it, another guard moved over and struck the blond hard in the gut with the hilt of his sword.

Sakamoto wheezed, clutching his stomach while he collapsed to his knees.

Ren felt a panic surge through him more. They were actually gonna kill that kid! He rushed forward, grabbing onto one of the guards by both arms. Ren desperately tried to pull him back but the iron clad guard barely budged.

"J-Just go! Get outta here! Th-These guys are serious!" Sakamoto managed to wheeze out.

"Oh? Running away, are we? What a heartless friend you are." The creepy king mocked.

Ren glared but still tried making the guard budge.

"He ain't a friend!" Sakamoto exclaimed then glared toward Ren, "Come on! Hurry up and go!"

They weren't friends, but he couldn't exactly leave the guy to _his death_.

The "king" mocked him some more before turning his attention back to Sakamoto. Ren began to back up as the guard knocked his hold. He backed away until his back hit against the wall while the guard pointed his sword at Ren. The intention made clear, if he so much as moved the knight would skewer him.

This couldn't be happening. Ren couldn't even voice how insane this was; he just froze like a deer in headlights, too shocked to even think or move. It was like his mind momentarily shut down.

He was brought back to reality when he heard the guards grabbing onto Sakamoto who was kicking and screaming. Then the psycho "king" sneered, ordering his men to hold the blond boy in place. And then he started whaling on him. Ren cringed as the speedo freak punched Sakamoto relentlessly, right and left. It didn't matter where; it was just aimless brutality. Sakamoto cried out with each strike. The guards dropped the blond after Kamoshida ceased his beating. He sneered down at the boy, and spat on him.

"Where'd your energy from earlier go?" His distorted voice mocked in a sing-song tone.

One of the guards picked up Sakamoto with one hand, and tossed him aside like a rag doll. He rolled on the ground, not even fighting back anymore.

This couldn't be real... this _couldn't_ be real!

Kamoshida scoffed, "A peasant like you isn't even worth beating. I'll have you killed right now."

He couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something. That Sakamoto kid was in _serious_ trouble. He couldn't stand aside any longer.

"Stop it!" Ren screamed.

That psycho who called himself "king" just turned to sneer at him, his arrogant chuckle echoed through the cell.

"What?" He stalked closer towards Ren as he mocked, "Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am?"

He honestly didn't, and he didn't give a damn either who this cocky lunatic was. He glared at the man with golden eyes. Even as he got closer, invading Ren's personal space, Ren held firm in his glare.

"That look in your eyes irritates me!" He growled as he swiftly kicked Ren in the gut.

Ren flew backwards and crashed into the wall behind him. He glared up at the creep, the one Sakamoto called Kamoshida, even as he was sprawled on the ground. He noticed some stars in his vision momentarily and the back of his head was sore, but he didn't care. He just grit his teeth and glared some more.

"Hold him there. After the peasant, it's his turn to die."

Ren felt his blood go cooler at hearing those words. This had to be some sick joke. Was he and that other kid really going to die?

Those guards moved closer toward Sakamoto and Ren felt his blood run even colder now as he bolted from the floor.

That other kid! He was _actually_ going to kill him! This wasn't a dream!

He barely made two feet away from the wall before two of the armored guards grabbed onto him and slammed him hard against the wall.

" _What do I do?! I have to do something! What do I_ —"

He was distracted from his panicked thoughts as he hissed in pain, those guards were squeezing onto his shoulders tightly while he thrashed. He saw one of the guards pick up Sakamoto from the ground, dangling from his grip like a limp noodle.

This was just like before. He was powerless. If he tried to help...would it make things worse just like before? He ceased from fighting back after that sobering question, the guards finally stopped squeezing his shoulders so hard since he was no longer moving against them.

He closed his eyes tightly as shame filled him. He was so helpless, and now they were both going to die. He bit back his disgust as that lunatic's laughter echoed around the cell.

He opened his eyes and his brows rose high on his forehead as he just stared in shock. That... was the butterfly from the weird dream he had on the train. What was it doing here, flying in front of him? He must have hit his head real hard on the wall to be suddenly hallucinating about some talking butterfly. He felt a strange presence from the butterfly, a feeling like they met before, like actually met... not something from a dumb dream. He was getting a lot of weird feelings like that lately.

_"This is truly an unjust game... your chances of winning are almost none."_

The butterfly didn't have to rub it in; he already knew he was pathetic and weak.

_"But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you..."_

His eyes widened.

" _A... a possibility?_ " He thought.

There was...actually something _he_ could do?

The butterfly vanished before he could even ask what it meant. But then he felt cold and hot all at once.

**_"What's the matter? Are you simply going to watch?"_ **

A second voice, but this one, it was deeper and... darker. It felt as if... it was coming from within _his own mind._ A chill crawled up his spine, yet at the same time a since of familiarity and relief washed over him.

Just what _the hell_ was happening to him?

**_"Are you forsaking him to save yourself?"_ **

Of course he wasn't! But what could he honestly do!?

**_"Death awaits him if you do nothing..."_ **

If he did nothing, if he just stood there, then Sakamoto was definitely going to die.

The image of his father, the principal, everyone in his hometown, that homeroom teacher, his former friends, his ex-girlfriend, his mother, and finally... Sojiro Sakura, all flashed in his mind. Those who didn't know the full story thought he was a criminal. Those that did know the story just told him to worry about himself and don't get involved.

As if to answer his thoughts, the dark voice then questioned him more harshly.

**_"Was your previous decision... a mistake then?"_ **

The woman's screams for help, the drunk man's hateful gaze, the sounds of the police sirens... they swirled in his mind over and over. He almost felt light-headed yet at the same time something burned in him that wouldn't let him pass out.

He looked up from the ground as he glared at the back of the Kamoshida creep. In his mind, the creep in the crown was replaced by that drunk man from that night. His gaze became cold as he clenched his teeth.

" _The world around me would say that my decision was a mistake. To hell with that! It wasn't!_ " He thought to himself, not sure how he knew the voice would hear his thoughts.

Even if he could travel back in time, he'd do it again! It was never a mistake! He wasn't wrong, this messed world was!

The dark voice was still there in the back of his mind, Ren could somehow sense it was pleased with his choice.

**_"Very well... I have heeded your resolve."_ **

Ren's eyes shot wide open as a heartbeat rippled through his whole body as he let out a silent gasp. Something... was coming.

The hot and cold spells returned. His heart kept fluctuating between beating a million miles an hour and trying to slow to a snail's pace. He felt weak from fatigue yet at the same time a rush of energy that was twelve times more of a burst than any coffee he ever drank. But more importantly was... the pain. He felt pain unlike anything he's ever felt in his entire life. It was as if every blood-cell in his body was boiling, yet his heart felt as if it was being stabbed by icy needles. He screamed like he's never screamed in his life.

**_"Vow to me..."_ **

The dark voice echoed through him; his screams almost became distant. The pain left the rest of his body, but was now concentrated on one area, his head. It somehow hurt worse than the pain he felt through the rest of his body from a mere few seconds ago. The only way he could describe the pain, is as if something was clawing its way out from deep inside his brain. Scraping, digging... sharp claws crawling through his mind, trying to get out.

**_"I am thou, thou art I..."_ **

Ren clenched his jaw tightly as his whole body broke out into a sweat. The clawing sensation in his mind was so painfully slow. Like someone was taking their sweet time to rip off a band aid, slowly pulling the hairs out of your skin one by one, but multiplied to a ridiculous level.

**_"Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage!"_ **

Ren let out an even louder blood-curdling scream. The mental clawing and scraping just wouldn't stop, was there no end to it? But the strangest thing of all... he actually was welcoming this pain.

**_"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"_ **

He lifted his head again, he felt himself giving a glare unlike any he's ever given in his life. The pain evaporated instantly, and was replaced with a seething, burning rage that filled him to his core.

The rage felt so alien, and yet not at the same time. No, that was wrong, he realized. It was _his_ rage. His rage that he'd been suppressing all this time. No more.

"Execute him!" The lunatic "king" exclaimed.

Ren glowered in disgust.

"That's enough!" He screamed.

The yellow-eyed lunatic turned to look at him with surprise, but it was suppressed quickly with a look of sheer contempt.

"What was that?"

Thankfully, the guard had finally dropped Sakamoto to the ground as all their attention was on Ren.

"You desire to be killed that much? Fine!"

He nodded towards one of his guards, and Ren felt cold metal being slammed against the left side of his head. The stupid fake glasses got knocked off his face as he stumbled from the blow.

He was surrounded by guards again, two of them holding his neck up to keep him standing in place by the wood of their spears. The third hovering over him, it raised its sword.

He should feel scared. He was going to die, but he felt oddly calm. Nothing made sense. But he wasn't afraid anymore.

He felt the presence of that dark voice, it wanted him to call it forth. Clarity filled his mind. He somehow knew what to say.

He still had some stars dancing around his vision after being slammed so hard in his head, but he mustered the strength to call upon the dark voice.

"Per... so... na..." He breathed out.

Another heartbeat rippled through him, and at the same time a gust of air swirled around him. It caused the guards to stumble backwards, he was finally free from their hold.

That was when he noticed something different, he felt something on his face. When he opened his eyes, he confirmed there was definitely something around them. He reached up to touch and... it was a mask?

Before he could question it, he felt a sense of urgency ripple through him. The dark voice, it was beckoning him again. He needed to get this thing off him, now!

The dark voice was insistent, he _needed_ him to take this thing off. Ren gripped it, but it slipped out of his grasp, not budging, as if it was glued to his face. He gripped it again harder and then pulled even harder. It hurt like hell, but he knew somehow this thing had to come off no matter what. So he ripped it off with all his might. He screamed at the searing pain, warm fluid pouring down his face. Blood... he ripped his own skin off his face.

The pain melted as quickly as it came. He looked up; he could feel a large grin form on his face. He was definitely losing his mind. Yet he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. The rush! The rush that filled him! This was it!

Blue flames engulfed his whole body. The fire was not burning him however; in fact, it felt intoxicating. And he realized what he was feeling... power.

The blue flames were slowly leaving his body, crawling up his skin and forming into another body behind him as chains began to rattle all around him.

The dark voice was taking shape... no, the Persona. Yes, that is what this thing was. It was a Persona, his Persona. And his name was Arsene. He didn't know how he knew that all of a sudden but it was inconsequential to the rush of power it now granted him.

Ren shot both hands out with a wicked grin, his Persona understood immediately. Unveiling his black wings that sent a rush of wind through the whole cell, it sent the guards all crashing into the wall.

The "king" crawled away like a little coward, while Sakamoto looked up at him with both fear and even awe in his eyes. Ren just smiled wickedly as the rush of adrenaline and power was drowning him. And yet he actually felt himself enjoying this feeling. It was payback time.

**_"I am the pillager of twilight, Arsene!"_ **

"What the...?" Sakamoto breathed in disbelief.

**_"I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."_ **

Ren looked up at the demonic looking entity, his other self.

"Give me your power." He said with a smirk.

**_"Hmph—very well..."_ **

"King" Kamoshida shook off his fear as he stood in the doorway of the cell, demanding to know who Ren was before ordering his guards to kill Ren first.

Ren snorted with another wicked grin. He could feel Arsene's power, his rage, his demands for justice to be satisfied—all coursing through him.

The guards contorted themselves before melting into a pile of black gunk that exploded into new shapes. Creatures with jack-o-lanterns for heads emerged from this blackness.

**_"Detest the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power... and unleash it!"_ **

He should be surprised or even scared at suddenly how he knew how to make this Persona fight for him; summoning a dark spell called Eiha to fatally damage one of the two pumpkin looking monsters. But he wasn't. He could only grin wider as he was intoxicated on this rush of new strength.

One of the other pumpkin creatures tried attacking him with a lantern it was holding but Ren managed to dodge it in the nick of time. He was so caught up in the euphoria of this new power that he didn't notice a large knife appeared in his hand at the start of this battle.

**_"Swing your blade!"_ **

At Arsene's instruction, Ren dashed forward and attacked the creature he already weakened. It exploded into a dark cloud of energy that evaporated.

**_"This power of mine is yours. Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!"_ **

Ren dashed forward and swung the knife again three times, striking the other creature. It was severely weakened but it had enough energy to manage a counter attack. It spun forward and smacked Ren twice against his chest with its lantern. That would probably bruise but Ren wouldn't worry about that right now. He would end this.

Ren shouted his next command, "Eiha!"

Arsene shot his dark power once more at the creature. It evaporated instantly the moment the attack made contact.

Arsene disappeared soon as he destroyed the creatures, becoming the mask again on his face.

Sakamoto stared at him in disbelief and the rush of adrenaline and rage vanished quickly. Ren suddenly then noticed his appearance changed. He didn't have enough time to wonder about his new threads as "King" Kamoshida stalked forward in a rage, glaring daggers at Ren.

Sakamoto took this moment to take advantage that Kamoshida was distracted. He dashed forward and tackled the "king". The man crashed into the ground as Sakamoto laughed at him in triumph.

"You like that, you son of a bitch?!"

The man would quickly get up, they couldn't afford to dwaddle and gloat right now (as much as that lunatic deserved it).

Ren exclaimed, "Sakamoto, the key!"

The blond shook off his excitement and rushed for the cell key, Ren made a beeline to pick up something off the ground without thinking and then quickly u-turned to dash out of the cell with Sakamoto.

The blond clumsily fiddled around in a state of panic but he managed to quickly lock the cell door. Kamoshida was furious and screaming at them. He and Sakamoto just ignored him as they took a quick second to catch a breath. Sakamoto then tried to start questioning him about what happened and what was up with his clothes.

"Hell if I know." Ren just shrugged.

This all happened so fast, he wasn't sure what was going on. Ren was brought out of these thoughts when he felt dizzy for just a moment, his body enveloped in a blue fire that came and went in the blink of an eye.

Sakamoto asked in disbelief, "Whoa! It went back to normal?!"

He was indeed back in his normal uniform. He wished he knew what was going on.

The "king" started to scream at them again and called for his guards. They decided it was best to make a hasty retreat. But not before Sakamoto tossed the keys aside, hearing a splash as it landed in the castle's drainage.

They made a run for it and found themselves at a dead end, there was another bar door locked, and the small bridge across the waterway was broken and decayed. However, the jump wasn't too far. They'd probably be able to make it. He pointed it out to Sakamoto and he agreed it was their best bet. They were pretty low on options and needed to keep moving.

They managed to get through to another area that didn't look to much different than the first, only the waterway was much wider. Jumping across wouldn't be possible without assistance. That was when Sakamoto noticed some cages submerged in the water a little further down. They ran over there and could see it would be feasible to get across by jumping on top of these cages, almost like stepping stones. Ren went first with Sakamoto following behind him. They managed to get across the cages and thankfully make it to the other side without complication or injury.

Ren however didn't want to think about why cages would be half submerged in water.

They trekked on forward. They heard some guards coming and quickly hid in a cell, only to notice there was a hole in the wall. They both nodded and crawled to hide in there. They heard the guards complaining about some prisoner they had to move, annoyed at the big hole the creature dug. Ren was curious about what they meant but knew it wasn't important, getting out alive was. He and Sakamoto sighed a breath of relief when they heard the clanking footsteps get further and further away.

They crawled out of the hole that lead into another open cell, Ren snuck a peak to make sure the coast was clear. He nodded toward Sakamoto and they were rushing off again.

There was a drawbridge that was pulled up. He and Sakamoto began to inspect it only for the sound of clanking to return from the distance. Sakamoto whispered loudly they needed to hide.

They made a mad dash for some crates about 9 feet away and hid behind them. The guards rushed off, thankfully not coming their way. But it was obvious they were looking for them. However, for the brief moment they were safe.

Ren took that moment to catch his breath. Sakamoto slouched against the crates as he let out a quiet groan. After all that rushing and darting around, Ren finally realized he was holding something in his left hand.

It was those stupid fake glasses?

Right, he darted for it back in the cell before they locked "King" Kamoshida in. But why though? He hated that thing.

All he could remember was the argument he was starting to have with his dad. He didn't get it. Why did his father keep defending her after everything she's put them through—put _him_ through?

Ren frowned at the only explanation crossed his mind.

" _He... still loves her._ " He thought ambivalently.

He really couldn't fathom why. Not after everything that happened.

Ren just sighed as he slipped the stupid fake glasses back on his face. He hated them and was still pissed at her, but his father wanted him to keep them. That must have been the reason he dived back to go get them, right?

Sakamoto brought him out of his brooding thoughts.

"I ain't playing along with this anymore! We gotta find a way outta this goddamn place!"

He was right, they couldn't linger. Ren let out a heavy exhale in relief soon as he turned around. There was an open doorway behind them; there were stairs that lead up!

"If this goes up, you think it heads to the exit?" Sakamoto asked anxiously.

Ren replied immediately, "That's what I'm hoping for."

Sakamoto was panting behind him, practically out of breath by the time they reached the top of the stairs. Though, Ren couldn't help but notice that he was kinda…walking funny. Did Kamoshida do something to his legs? How exactly he beat up Sakamoto was sort of… a blur. Ren gave him a few seconds to catch his breath. Soon as he did, Sakamoto immediately had a comment.

"Hey, let's get the hell outta this place!" He exclaimed.

Ren could only nod as he pushed open the wooden door.

* * *

Today was getting weirder, then scarier, then even scarier, and then even weirder by the second.

They managed to find their way into even more dungeon cells. He wondered if there would ever be an end in sight. But that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was the newest companion he and Sakamoto picked up.

Some furry monster cat... thing. Though it... he... took huge offense to being called a cat.

Sakamoto didn't trust this thing one bit, and their new companion didn't seem to take a shining to his fellow student either. But they were low on options and needed help. He agreed to let the creature out on the condition he guides them out of the castle.

It looked like a mascot of some kind of anime or theme park. Spoke perfect Japanese too. It could even summon a Persona like him. Though it seemed to be more experienced. Morgana was what the strange creature called himself, and he called his Persona, Zorro. Ren felt his power flicker back at the right time to help Morgana battling more of those monsters.

Morgana then proceeded to instruct him on elemental weakness of your enemies which he easily exploited, though he was a bit braggy about it.

While he could do without the ego, Morgana was insanely helpful and was extremely knowledgeable about these new powers he had no idea about. The two of them made quick work of the Shadows.

"Not bad. Your Persona is pretty powerful." Morgana complimented.

And he felt he was actually sincere. Despite how tired he felt he attempted to muster a tiny smile down at the "Not-A-Cat".

Sakamoto started to question Morgana who explained a few things, what Shadows are (those monsters they fought), and what his Persona was. Though his explanation was interrupted when Ren felt momentarily dizzy for a second and his powers flickered off again.

"Huh? He turned back to normal again?" Sakamoto inquired quizzically.

"Hmm... looks like you don't have full control over your power yet." Morgana started to explain, "The transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all—"

Sakamoto then interjected, "Rrgh—that's enough! This crap doesn't make any sense!"

"Can't you just sit still and listen for once, Blondie?!" Morgana hissed.

Sakamoto stomped his left foot on the ground as he clenched his right fist, glaring at Morgana.

The blond quickly retorted, "Don't call me Blondie! My name is Ryuji!"

Well now he knew the guy's full name. Though it dawned on Ren that he never told his name, what with everything that happened there wasn't exactly time to introduce themselves properly.

"There is no time for me to lecture you! You wanna escape this place in one piece, right? Then let's go!" Morgana started to dash ahead.

Ren and Ryuji followed after but Ren felt sluggish, a bit winded from the guards' beatdown. He realized his fellow student was trailing next to him. It was then he noticed how Ryuji was wincing with each step, clenching his teeth in pain. Suddenly he felt pity for the guy. He was beaten up pretty badly by that prick. The guy was definitely going to be sporting a lot of bruises and probably really sore. Ren was sore too and felt drained as all hell.

They were both a mess.

Morgana seemed to notice them lagging and stopped his pace. They came to a halt before they ran over the Destinyland Mascot runaway.

"You amateurs are gonna slow me down at this rate. Alright... here." Morgana reached into his scarf with a scoff.

Ryuji glared down at the cat and grumbled. Ren just tilted his head.

Morgana then pulled out two bottles filled with a couple of pills. He handed it to them both.

"Take these, you'll need them if you want to make it out alive. It should help with the pain too. Blondie, you look like you're in more pain, so I recommend taking two for you." He explained.

Ryuji stopped glaring and Ren nearly smiled an actual real one for once.

"It's medicine." Morgana said with a shrug.

Ryuji questioned, "Wait a sec, you're giving this to us?"

"Don't make me regret my sudden generosity." Morgana said with a mischievous grin.

Ryuji glared again, "You little bastard..."

Ren just sighed and shrugged. Morgana was arrogant and a know-it-all. But he was true to his word on being their guide and helping them. He gratefully swallowed one of the pills and already he felt a bit better, the soreness melting away. He was still fatigued but at least he wasn't in pain.

"Hey, this stuff works." He held up the bottle to Ryuji.

Ryuji blinked in surprise, "For real?"

Ren nodded to their furry companion.

"Thanks, let's get out of here."

Morgana nodded as Ryuji swallowed two pills. A few seconds later and Ryuji had a bit more spring to his step. He begrudgingly mumbled a thank you to Morgana and the furry guide just snickered, which made Ryuji glare.

They ran into a few more Shadows on the way out, one time he struggled to summon his powers, he was so exhausted. It was only when Morgana got overwhelmed trying to protect Ryuji from them, Ren was finally able to call on his powers. He was able to get a Shadow away from Morgana and then destroyed it after a couple of attacks with his knife. He wasn't sure why but the more he used Arsene the worse his fatigue got, and the medicine Morgana gave him wasn't helping.

Morgana managed to destroy the other two Shadows after wearing them down.

Ren was panting and gasping for air as he felt sweat running down his neck and forehead. He felt dizzy again for a few seconds as the transformation fizzled out once more.

"Whoa, dude... you're lookin' way pale!" Ryuji ran up to his side but then barked down at Morgana who got to Ren's side first, "Hey cat! I thought you said this medicine would help?"

"I am _not_ a cat!" Morgana hissed, then coughed awkwardly before he calmly explained, "The medicine I gave you is to help physical injuries and relieve pain. Frizzy-hair here awakened to his Persona I take it. The summoning is always a very taxing experience on the spirit for the first time. He should get home and go straight to bed. A good night sleep would do him wonders."

"Sounds... like a plan. Let's... g-get out... of here." He panted.

They made a beeline down a hall and managed to run for 5 minutes until Ryuji stopped them. There was some guy in a PE uniform in a dungeon cell near the drawbridge. Ryuji and Morgana began to argue again. Morgana insisting that they leave it, and Ryuji wouldn't budge. Ren felt his head pounding.

"Will you both shut up?!" He shouted.

Both looked startled at him. He shook his head to hopefully shake some fatigue out of him.

"I'm too tired for this. Let's just—"

And just his kind of dumb fortune, the drawbridge lowered to reveal another stupid Shadow. He really did have the best kind of rotten luck today.

"I am getting _really_ tired of this, and you guys are _really_ starting to piss me off." Ren growled.

"You should probably sit down; I sense this is a weak one—"

He cut Morgana off, "Nope! I'm pissed!"

Arsene wanted him to release his rage and weaponize it? Then he's damn well going to do it! His body flickered in blue flames; the transformation was even quicker than last time.

"Let's fight!" Ren shot the Shadow a death glare.

He contorted like the others and melted into a black puddle, two shapes taking form from the puddle.

Morgana smirked next to him, "I'm glad you stick to your guns."

The two Shadows looked like some kind of fairies, Morgana glared and immediately summoned Zorro. Ren didn't care how tired he was, he summoned Arsene too. Even though he felt exhausted, he could feel Arsene was getting stronger with each battle. Arsene beckoned him to try something new that wouldn't affect his stamina. But it may cause a bit of pain. He didn't care, he followed the promptings of his inner self. Arsene launched forward and slashed at one of the fairy-looking Shadows with a powerful Cleave attack.

He was right though; Ren hissed and was brought to his knees from the pain momentarily.

"Frizzy-hair! Take some of the medicine I gave you, it'll help!" Morgana called out as he rushed forward and slashed the other fairy-thing with his saber.

He only had two left, he shook his head and swallowed one of the pills, the pain almost subsiding instantly. He really didn't like that attack, but it got the job done, it severely weakened the Shadow, and while Ren quickly recovered, Morgana finished off the Shadow he was facing. Ren stood up straight and summoned Arsene again, this time to do that one darkness attack.

"Eiha!"

The fairy-thing already was weakened, but that attack looked twice as powerful when it hit and the fairy shadow evaporated instantly.

"Impressive, you correctly guessed it's weakness." Morgana complimented.

Ren nodded and gave the furry guide a weak thumbs up as he tried to catch his breath. The momentary dizzy spell returned and he sighed as he knew what that meant by now. And sure enough the transformation flickered away instantaneously revealing his normal self.

"Hmm... we definitely should avoid running in with more Shadows. I'm not sure how much more you can keep this up. You're already pushing yourself to your limits being so new and vulnerable to this."

"Then let's not run into any more." Ren said after wiping the sweat off his brow.

Morgana chuckled and pat him on the ankle, "Agreed, I'd like to avoid them too."

"Whoa, you guys made mincemeat out of those things... remind me to never get on your bad side, new kid." Ryuji rubbed the back of his head with a small laugh, his eyes then widened, "Oh hold on! We can't just leave this guy here!"

He was gesturing to the boy in the cell. Even though they shouldn't be slowed down anymore than they already are, Ren didn't like the idea of leaving someone in this twisted nightmare.

"I agree, we should—"

"Enough! I was trying to explain to you both earlier before we were so rudely interrupted..." Morgana began to lecture, annoyance seeping into his voice.

"You didn't want us to leave you behind, now you're gonna—"

"Enough Blondie! Don't confuse things! You really don't get it do you?" They heard the sound of clanking in the distance and Morgana began to growl, "Hrgh... there's no time to explain! Look I'm going! If you don't want to follow, be my guest!"

Ryuji glowered as he balled his hands into fists.

"Dammit, fine! I'm coming! And I told you it's Ryuji!" He yelled after their guide.

Ren sighed and followed after.

After some more twists and turns, they mercifully managed to avoid any more Shadows. Morgana lead them into that main room they were originally captured in, the entrance hall, Morgana called it. He led them down further into another hallway. Morgana announced they finally made it. Ryuji ran for the first door he saw which was locked. He of course voiced his suspicions again of Morgana trying to trick them. Morgana just rolled his eyes and told him to not jump to conclusions.

And then he turned to the door on the opposite side, right across from Ryuji, and opened it up.

Ryuji said sheepishly, "H-Hey! Wait up!"

They followed after the cat who led them to a room with a large bookcase. Morgana and Ryuji had another small argument about how he was going to help them escape and Ren was getting a headache. Can they just go already?

After Morgana explained it was the most basic of basics, Ren mumbled out that it was probably the ventilation shaft he was talking about. Soon as Ryuji knew what the plan was, he hopped up the book shelf and pried the metallic mesh off... creating a bit of a noise and a mess.

Ren sighed but they pressed on. All escaping through the open ventilation shaft one at a time.

Ryuji stopped behind him and turned back when he realized Morgana wasn't following them.

"Hey, where are you—?"

It was too late; Ryuji already popped his head back into the castle.

"Yo, Morgana."

"You're still here? I thought I told you to get going."

"But what about you?"

"There's something that I still have to do. We're going our separate ways."

Ryuji crawled back in, and stood up on the bookcase, looking down at their guide in disappointment. Ren crawled after, surprised to see they were not actually fighting for once. He crawled out and stood next to Ryuji on the large bookcase.

"Look... don't get caught again, okay?" Ryuji exclaimed.

Morgana actually smiled up at Ryuji and gave him a nod. For the first time in a while Ren actually felt himself giving a full real smile when he looked down at their strange fellow fugitive. It felt odd doing that. Smiling for real. But he was alive, somehow, they all made it out alive, and for that he was grateful.

"Thanks for your help." Ren replied.

The cat just smirked, "Heh. You got good manners."

He rolled his eyes and waved goodbye to Morgana. Making his way back through the ventilation shaft, Ryuji tailing behind him.

* * *

He returned to the real world with Ryuji (at least that's what the voice on the weird app on his phone claimed). After getting grilled by some cops, Ren decided it was best to not linger. Especially since they were convinced, he and Ryuji were up to no good.

Ryuji chased after Ren since Ren took off without him. Ren looked at the clock on his phone. He was going to get throttled by the Leblanc's owner as soon as he got back. No way the school wouldn't notify him when he went missing for half a day on his first day. Ren grit his teeth. He could already see his homeroom teacher now; she'll probably complain all "woe is me" being stuck with a problem child like him with that exasperated expression.

Ryuji finally caught up to him.

"Hey, dude, would you slow down?!"

"I don't want to be anymore late than we already are."

"Well yeah but—"

"It's over, we're alive. Isn't that enough?"

"I guess..."

Ryuji sound disappointed. Ren just sighed.

"By the way, it's Amamiya."

"Huh?"

"My name... I know yours Sakamoto-san, so you should know mine. Ren Amamiya." He stated.

Ryuji waved his left hand as he scowled.

"Whoa, do not call me that! Old people call me that. No honorifics necessary. Just call me Ryuji... uhh... Ren-Ren?" The blond had a huge teasing grin on his face.

Ren rolled his eyes. Too easy.

"No honorifics? Sure thing... Sakamoto."

"Asshole."

Ryuji actually pouted while glaring. Ren almost laughed.

The mood quickly turned sour soon as they hit the school gate. A school counselor was grilling them. Demanding where they were and Ryuji was just digging his own grave. He didn't seem like a bad guy, but he seemed to have a habit of putting his foot in his mouth if Ren had to guess. And no surprise that the school received a call from those cops. His luck really did keep getting better and better it seemed. Ren just grumbled.

That was when that guy, Kamoshida, showed up. Ren felt his blood freeze for a moment but then paused. The teacher looked normal, no glowing eyes or creepy distorted voice. He didn't seem to register Ryuji talking about a castle.

What was going on?

However, it seemed there was some tension he didn't know about. When he first met Ryuji hours ago, the guy was showing barely veiled resentment about this Kamoshida guy. Ren needed to defuse the situation quickly before Ryuji gets himself into more trouble.

"It's my fault." He spoke up.

Ryuji looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Care to explain?" The counselor sneered down at him.

Ren just unbuttoned his jacket, then proceeded to lift up his shirt that was tucked in his pants. The teachers looked at him like some kind of weirdo, but the counselor looked appalled to see many bruises on his chest. That medicine from Morgana did help as he looked down, the bruises were no longer so red and swollen but there were still several bruises. The Kamoshida teacher just stared at him with an unreadable expression.

Ren pulled his shirt back down and buttoned up his jacket.

"A couple of thugs jumped me and tried to steal my money. This guy here saw them and helped me. He tried to find a clinic to take a look at me but they threw us out because they thought we were troublemakers skipping class. So he tried to patch me up himself. But then on our way back we had trouble because a lot of the trains are being delayed."

The part of the trains was true, Ren remembered hearing a report on the radio an old man was listening to on the way to the station in Yongen-Jaya were talking about delaying all trains after 10 AM. To work on maintenance to make sure all trains would be safe due to the recent subway accident. And they wouldn't be able to check with any clinic anyway, after all any clinic wouldn't think twice about remembering if two teenage troublemakers did come in, probably would assume it's true... if he was lucky. The bruises spoke for itself.

Ren did his best to channel his father's straight face, being a lawyer, you had to be good at lying and persuasion to root out liars on the stand. He once again begrudgingly realized he had to be grateful for the stupid fake glasses. As he now tried to look meek and contrite, and the glasses probably did help as the counselor actually looked like he pitied him after what he did next.

He bowed his head and said, "I take full responsibility, please don't punish Sakamoto-san for coming to my rescue."

The counselor looked at a loss for words. Kamoshida rubbed his chin as he started neutrally at them both.

"I find it hard to believe Sakamoto would stick his neck out for anyone... just in case, you should probably get Sakamoto's side of the story." Kamoshida advised the counselor who nodded in agreement.

"You're coming with me Sakamoto."

Ren sighed in relief, as despite the fact that Ryuji wasn't quite out of the woods yet, the counselor's tone was less harsh. There was a chance he believed Ren's story.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Ryuji whispered incredulously.

Ren just whispered back, "Just go."

Ryuji frowned but did as he was asked. But not before he shot a glare at Kamoshida.

Though Ryuji had a point, just what was he doing? The principal gave him a very stern warning. This school would not give him second chances. He sighed, it seemed he hadn't changed after all.

If he was lucky, Ryuji would stick to his lie, and the counselor would relay it to that Kawakami lady. He winced internally remembering Sojiro. Hopefully if the news of him being late was told to his temporary guardian, the fib he just told would also be relayed. Maybe that would stay the coffee man's wrath and making good on his promise to throw Ren out the first chance he gets.

Ren made his way up the stairs, he got about halfway when Kamoshida addressed him.

"You're that new transfer student, correct?"

Ren just nodded.

Kamoshida looked puzzled, "Have we met somewhere?"

Ren couldn't help but hold in a breath. Was it possible he was connected that that demon doppelganger in that creepy castle? He shook his head. No, he needed to be rational. Just because today was crazy didn't mean everything was. The guy must of recognized him from this morning. He probably has nothing to do with that strange place anyway.

"This morning. You offered me and a girl a ride to school. I declined. Probably not a smart move going on my own considering I got jumped." Ren sprinkled his lies with half-truths.

He wasn't sure his father would be happy to know he'd took what he watched his dad doing as a lawyer to try and get away with being late to school. Even if he felt justified.

Though it's not like his dad will find out... hopefully.

"That's right. I remember now. I'll overlook this just for today." He said politely, but then his expression turned stern, "I'm sure you heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"

Ren wondered if it was just his imagination or all the weird stuff that had been happening to him made him jumpy... but he felt, like there was something hidden in that last comment. It sounded like a normal warning a teacher would give to a student they think is a delinquent. He'd decided to let it go. He's too tired to worry about this after nearly dying.

"Yes sir, I understand." Ren said neutrally.

"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Ms. Kawakami's tired of waiting."

Ren forced himself not to wince. Great, he'd have to deal with the lady who would probably be happier if he crawled into some hole and never showed his face in her class. He nodded to Kamoshida to head to the faculty office.

It seemed the counselor did not relay his lie. He tried explaining the same story to Kawakami but she wasn't interested in listening to any excuse. He felt himself frowning. So that was how it was going to be with her always, just always making up her mind about what kind of person he is and assuming the worst?

As she went into a lecture about how he was warned, then had to go and say how he was found with " _that Sakamoto-kun_ "... maybe it's because he just went through a life and death situation, but the kid hadn't actually done anything wrong since he met him. A bit crass and kinda on the air-headed side, but he seemed decent. He couldn't help it. All the frustrations that had been bubbling up and over the past weeks, and the stress of today came crashing down.

"Can't believe they'd actually hire a teacher who refuses to listen to her student." He snapped in a quiet tone, loud enough she could hear but not loud enough to make a scene.

To his shock, Kawakami actually gasped as she stared at him with wide eyes. It might have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a look of hurt flash in her eyes. She masked it so quickly he wondered if he imagined it.

He actually couldn't believe he said that. Just smooth, even if he wasn't a fan of her, offending your teacher on the first day wasn't smart. Not to mention she wasn't the only person he was upset with... it just... slipped out.

"I... sorry... I..." He mumbled awkwardly.

Kawakami sighed before running a hand through her hair.

"Look, it's been a long day. Just... don't do it again."

He started to follow her out but it was still bothering him.

" _That_ Sakamoto-kun?"

She let out a long sigh.

"Things already are going to be troublesome as it is for you. That can't be helped. But don't get involved with him okay? He's a trouble magnet. And you're trying to stay away from trouble, not go looking for it."

Ren didn't respond. He didn't know the kid well enough. They had only just met. But still... it didn't feel right.

She then fed him some bogus story about how he'd introduce himself to the class that he wasn't feeling well so he stayed home a bit until he got better. He frowned. His story at least was more plausible. He even had the bruises to show for it. He didn't like there being two different lies floating around about why he was late. The less lies the better, easier to keep a story straight.

Although he could see Kawakami's point of view actually. If any of his classmates found out about his record, hearing he got mugged... and with Ryuji who already has the look of a bleached delinquent... yeah that would be a disaster.

He had to concede she had a point and agreed to go with her bogus sick story. He walked into class with Kawakami and already the class was whispering about him. And from the looks on their faces, it wasn't the good kind of gossip. Judging by the wary looks they were all giving him.

"Okay settle down." Kawakami called out, "I'd like to introduce a new transfer student, Amamiya-kun. Today we... had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well. Alright, please say something to the class."

Ren sighed but kept his face neutral. Everyone's expression was putting him on edge.

"Hello, I'm Ren Amamiya." He introduced politely, then bowed his head slightly, "It's nice to—"

He froze when he heard a girl whispering in the front loud enough for him to hear.

"He seems quiet... but I bet when he loses it..."

The girl next to her then whispered back, "I mean he was arrested for assault, right?"

He felt his heart sink as he refused to look up at those girls, he made certain to keep his face still. They knew. That's what all the whispering was about, the wary looks. It was just like home. They all somehow knew and was looking at him like he was some kind of brute.

Some fresh start.

"Hey, what did I say? Quiet down, you can all talk after class." Kawakami said tiredly.

Kawakami then pointed out an open seat for him to take by the window. He trekked on over and he couldn't believe it. It was her. The girl from this morning.

He slowed his step when she sent him a glare.

"Lies..." She whispered.

He was stupid. It wasn't like he knew who she was. All she did was smile at him. And yet... it felt so nice to have someone look at him like that for the first time in a while. But it seemed she mistrusted him too like everyone else. His family...well most of them...knew who he really was. But it would be nice for someone else to see that too. A smile from a pretty girl, directed at him for no other reason... and surviving a near death experiencing and confronting your inner demon... it kind of made him feel like things would turn around.

He felt the exhaustion of that strange world hit him hard, he felt so tired. But he was still stuck at school so he had to bear it.

"Oh hey... nice to see you again." He said tiredly.

She looked at him with surprise but said nothing. She then glared as the classmates started gossiping about their little interaction, not that he listened. He was too busy looking out the window and thinking how much he blew it. He wasn't sure how but the records got out. His dad went to great lengths to find him a place to stay so he could have a fresh start. And now it was ruined.

* * *

Class couldn't have ended sooner, he just wanted to hurry back to the cafe before things got worse. He then grimaced when he remembered who would be waiting for him at that cafe.

" _Ah right... the cranky old man, damn. This bites._ " He thought to himself.

Kawakami came out to remind him to head straight home and that Sakura-san was quite upset...not that she had to tell him twice. He felt a painful stab in between his eyebrows. The headache came and went; he also could have sworn he was hallucinating about that castle for a moment. He really needed to take that cat's advice and go straight to bed when he gets home.

Kawakami sounded kind of annoyed, but she did actually ask if he was okay. That was a first from her. She then frowned, mentioning how it seemed everyone knew about his record but she hadn't told anyone. Was that pity he saw on her face or was he imagining it?

He shook his head, he was dwaddling, he needed to get back and try to smooth things over with Mr. Douchebag Curry and Coffee (and as much as he hated to admit it, the man's food and coffee were delicious).

But just when he wanted to start cutting Kawakami some slack, she had to go making it all about her again.

"I can't even catch a break... why do I have to deal with this?" She said in a rather whiny tone.

"Well damn... just _how_ do you think I feel dealing with this, is everyone in the city so selfish?"

This time he actually snapped louder and to make things worse, some students actually heard him and immediately started gossiping. He used to be so much more composed. He hated this, he was never this stressed out and quick to snap before this whole mess. He wondered if it would have been better if he just went the long way home that night.

Suddenly Arsene's question echoed in his mind from earlier.

 **_"Was your previous decision... a mistake_ ** **_then?"_**

Right... he already decided that no matter what, he'd make that same choice again and again, consequences be damned. It ruined his life but it was still the right thing to do. Everyone knows about his record now; he cannot change that. But he can change how he reacts to them.

"I'm sorry Ms. Kawakami, I shouldn't have raised my voice like that. I've been...really tired lately." Ren decided to defuse the situation as best he could.

Kawakami looked at him with an odd expression; he couldn't quite place what it was.

"You should head straight home. Sakura-san doesn't sound like a patient man." She let out a sigh, "Oh and about Sakamoto-kun, don't get involved—"

Ryuji had quite the impeccable timing as he strolled up right as she was saying that. Ren felt himself grimace as Ryuji looked at her very unimpressed, she just stared at him with a look of displeasure.

"Speak of the devil..." Kawakami stated.

He watched as she interrogated Ryuji about the police saying they were cutting class; Ryuji just rolled his eyes and kept his ground. She then told him he was instructed to dye his hair back to black and Ryuji responded with a sarcastic apology. He then turned to Ren, whispering to meet him up on the school roof. Kawakami sighed, warning him again to not get involved.

Not long after Ryuji left, the principal and Kamoshida walked up the stairs, talking about him. It seemed it would never end. Kamoshida of course said he was a menace. The principal then stroked Kamoshida's ego about how the school counts on him. And then admitted the reason they accepted Ren was because of his mother's business connections and the fact they thought advertising that they could "fix" problem children and have a "necessary build-up" it would boost the school's reputation. So that's all he was... some pet project. Typical, people were so self-serving.

Ren grit his teeth and walked up the stairs. He didn't want to hear anymore of this.

He had some time—he might as well delay the inevitable. He wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing Sojiro. He headed up to the rooftop, figuring the stairs would take him all the way up there. He saw some double doors and pushed them open.

Sure enough there was Ryuji Sakamoto waiting for him.

"There you are. Sorry for calling you up here like this. I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like "don't get involved with him", huh?" Ryuji asked with irritation.

Ren answered honestly, "Said you were a trouble-magnet."

Ryuji snorted, "Heh, we're pretty much in the same boat. Heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talking about it."

He did his best not to roll his eyes.

"No wonder you were so gutsy."

Ren blinked and stared. He was... awfully okay about this.

"What was all that that happened? You know we almost got killed at some castle... it wasn't a dream right; you remember it too?"

Now Ryuji was starting to make more sense. He could gather Ryuji had a bit of an unsavory reputation himself, but good or bad, he was certain he had teachers also likewise tell Ryuji to avoid him.

But they just went through a life and death situation. Things like who to hang out with and who to avoid seems so petty and stupid in comparison.

"Yeah, I don't think it was a dream." He replied.

"Well just because we both remember it doesn't mean much though." Ryuji grumbled, but then sat up a little straighter and said sincerely, "Even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. Thank you, Ren."

Now that he thought about it, when was the last time someone told him thank you? Today really was full of surprises.

"But man, that Kamoshida we saw in there... you prolly don't know about it. But there are some rumors about him." Ryuji said.

"You mean Kamoshida?" Ren asked.

Ryuji nodded with a scowl, "Yeah, the ripped mophead. That asshole who was all full of himself at the castle. No one says anything against him 'cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that."

Ryuji actually had a deep contemplative look in his eyes.

"I wonder if we could go back to that castle again."

"You actually want to go back?" Ren asked in disbelief.

Ryuji grumbled and rubbed his head in frustration, "Ugh... forget it. Must've have been a dream! It has to be!"

The blond got up from the chair he was sitting in and walked over to Ren.

"Sorry to drag you out here like this. That's all I had to say. You know... we might be pretty similar. I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as _'troublemakers'_. I'll come talk if I see you around, don't ignore me alright?"

Ryuji held his hand out expectingly with a smile on his face. A real smile. Just like that girl's from earlier today but different. Still... all the same, while it wasn't some cute girl, it was... oddly nice. He gave him a small smile and clasped his hand.

"I guess you can consider me your accomplice in this hellhole." Ryuji joked.

Ren just snorted after shaking his hand.

"Accomplice sounds so... crooked." Ren joked back.

"Well I think it's fitting for a couple of bad boys such as us, don't worry I hear that's what ladies love." Ryuji smirked.

Ren actually laughed out loud. It was weird and he could be wrong, but he was pretty sure he was actually making a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, Blond/Blonde is gendered? I went my whole life never knowing hair color spellings are gendered. The more you know I guess?
> 
> Soon as I played P5 and Ren got the Rise poster I headcanoned he absolutely had a celebrity crush on Risette and I will die on that hill.
> 
> Some more P3 and P4 references, expect to be seeing more in the future because I be like that and love to do that.
> 
> You'll notice Chapter 1 didn't have dates but this one does, that's because I wanted the timeframe to be somewhat vague at the beginning of the story, I know a lot of people have different headcanons when the incident started so I keep it at a vague timeframe of "weeks" which can mean anything to under or over month or even more...I like the idea of the timeline starting at where you can imagine and then pick up when Persona 5 starts.
> 
> This chapter was a long one, and yes I'm a shameless RenAnn fan. Also Ryuji is a bro, so I hope I made some Ryuji fans happy, especially you Chipmunkfanatic!
> 
> My Ace Attorney readers, no I am not dead, TGDST next chapter is in production, I actually got far but I put it on hold because I wanted to rush to get chapter 2 out before Persona 5 Royal came out. Don't worry though, chapter 12 is going to be a nice long chapter for you guys!
> 
> I changed up a bit in the Velvet Room because Theodore and Margaret will have an active role in this story. The plot twist to P5 with the Velvet Room was sooooo good. Even though all of us who played it know it by now, I don't want to ruin it even in my narrative. So I wanted to work around it in a way that Theodore and Margaret can still be in the story while what happens in the Velvet Room remained a mystery. I only sprinkled inklings of that, but we'll see more in the future.
> 
> I know I said this before, but while Kasumi is in my story she will be very different as the concept of the character I wrote for this story was originally a Female OC who I just gave their role to Kasumi. This story is based off of Vanilla P5 with a tone of continuity references to past titles and some AU elements to justify Margaret and Theodore's inclusion. And again do not spoil me to P5R. I preordered the game and would like to go in organically. But I want to make it clear while I use Kasumi's name and design this character is not her because I wrote a lot of this arc for a different character before Royal was announced. You will be seeing her and Theodore and Margaret very very soon.
> 
> Thank you everyone for your support. It means a lot. I was quite surprised by the amount of positive reception I got from the first chapter alone. It's very humbling.
> 
> And a big thank you again to my amazing beta.
> 
> Please leave a review, they keep the plot bunnies flowing.


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